Carlos Augusto played two different roles and scored the winner for Inter against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. ‘We dedicate the win to Alessandro Bastoni.’
The three points arrived at last in the Champions League, but it was another far from impressive performance in the tournament.
Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Inter 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Seeing Bastoni sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession was a further blow to morale, but instead it sparked them into life.
Substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass from midfield sent Carlos Augusto running, he chested it down and flicked the finish past the on-rushing goalkeeper to seal the 1-0 victory.
Carlos Augusto decisive for Inter
“It was an important goal, as Shakhtar Donetsk are a really good team, they pass it around well, but I have to credit my teammates, as it was not easy to play down to 10 men and we showed how much we wanted this victory,” Carlos Augusto told Amazon Prime Video Italia.
This was the second role for Carlos Augusto in the match, as he started on the left side of a three-man defence, then moved into the left wing-back role to replace Federico Dimarco.
“Mkhitaryan gave me a great pass, but Piotr Zielinski also played a crucial role by starting the move. We really needed this victory, and with the spirit we showed today, we can go forward.”
Inter seemed almost terrified before the red card, feeling the intense pressure after losing their first two Champions League matches this season against Real Madrid and Club Brugge.
Including last season, they had lost seven out of eight games in the tournament going into San Siro this evening.
“We weren’t scared, but obviously Champions League games are difficult, you cannot control them for 90 minutes. Shakhtar Donetsk have a lot of quality, the squad is full of Brazilians, but we showed that we could suffer under pressure too,” added Carlos Augusto.
The two yellow cards in quick succession seemed a little harsh for Bastoni, so was there some provocation before that?
“It was what they were looking for. I don’t know if they were yellow cards, but the important thing is that we won, so we dedicate the win to Bastoni. We’ve got to keep going like this.”
