Inter Milan secured a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, thanks to an own goal by Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba.
The result temporarily propelled the Italian champions to the top of the group standings.
With an unbeaten record, Inter leads the table with 13 points from five games, one point ahead of second-place Barcelona, who triumphed 3-0 over Brest.
Liverpool sits third, also with 12 points, but they have a game in hand and will face defending champions Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Inter dominated possession in the first half and took the lead in the 27th minute. Federico Dimarco, making his first Champions League start this season, delivered a free kick that was inadvertently turned into the net by Lukeba, who deflected the ball into his own goal.
The hosts appeared to be heading for a comfortable win, but after the break, Simone Inzaghi’s team slowed down their tempo, and Leipzig started to gain momentum.
Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer was called into action in the 69th minute, making a brilliant save to deny Antonio Nusa’s low shot.
Leipzig came into the match having lost all four of their previous group-stage games and were missing midfielder Xavi Simons due to an ankle injury.
They also lost defender Lukas Klostermann to a calf injury during their 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Inter, on the other hand, welcomed Hakan Çalhanoglu back from a thigh injury, while Lautaro Martínez started up front alongside Mehdi Taremi after recovering from illness following international duty.
Despite their dominance, Inter’s defense remained under pressure in the final stages, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had secured a second goal in stoppage time, only for the effort to be ruled out due to a foul by Marcus Thuram.
Nonetheless, Inter held firm and preserved their perfect defensive record in the competition, remaining the only team yet to concede a goal in this season’s Champions League.
This marks the first time Inter has won four consecutive games in the competition without conceding, with their previous best being three such victories in 1966-67 and 2009-10.
In their opening games, they secured a goalless draw with Manchester City, then beat Red Star Belgrade 4-0, Young Boys 1-0, and Arsenal 1-0.
Inter, currently third in Serie A and just one point behind leaders Napoli, will next travel to face German champions Bayer Leverkusen on December 10.
Leipzig, still searching for their first points after five straight losses, will host Aston Villa on the same day.
