Internazionale – Shakhtar Donetsk: Clinical Inter Press And Punish Error-Prone Shakhtar (5-0)

A dominance of possession came to nothing as structural issues in attack surfaced for Shakhtar Donetsk. Inter’s stern 5-3-2 defensive block proved to be impenetrable for the toiling Shakhtar outfit. Inter’s high press caused Shakhtar into buildup errors which the Italians ruthlessly capitalized on, to claim a win that never looked under threat.

Tactical analysis and match report by Julian Chingoma.

Internazionale had narrowly beaten Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to reach this semi-final. Shakhtar had a more convincing win in their quarter-final clash, defeating FC Basel 4-1. These two sides would face off for the right to battle Sevilla for the Europa League crown.

Antonio Conte named the same starting eleven from their quarter-final win as Inter went out in a 3-5-2 formation. Samir Handanović manned the goal as Diego Godín, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni formed the back three. Danilo D’Ambrosio and Ashley Young were the wing-backs, on the right and left respectively. Their trio in central midfield was Nicolò Barella, Marcelo Brozović and Roberto Gagliardini. The pair of Romelu Lukaku and Lauturo Martínez continued up front.

Luís Castro drafted in Davit Khocholava for Valeriy Bondar in central defense as they kept a 4-2-3-1 shape. The goalkeeper for the Shakhtar, as always, was Andriy Pyatov. In . . .