Champions League: Calhanoglu penalty helps Inter beat Arsenal; Atletico stun PSG as Villa's 100 per cent run ends

A Hakan Calhanoglu penalty gave Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, while a 93rd-minute winner ensured Atletico Madrid left Paris with all three points.

The Italian champions remain undefeated in the competition this season and sit fifth on 10 points at the midway point of the new league phase format.

“I think we played a great game against a strong side who play with great intensity,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.

Arsenal, on the other hand, experienced defeat for the first time in Europe this season and lie three points and seven places behind their opponents.

The match at the San Siro looked set to go into the break goalless until a penalty was signalled against Mikel Merino after Mehdi Taremi’s flick deviated the ball into the Arsenal player’s raised hand from close range.

More from Football

'Growing up in Brazil, I saw so many people..': Chelsea's exciting summer signing Joao Pedro reveals why it was an easy decision to sign with the Blues Man United reportedly suffer major setback in the pursuit to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton

“We were very harshly done by,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports. “There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it?”

Calhanoglu stroked home the resulting spot-kick three minutes into first-half injury time.

Yann Sommer and Denzel Dumfries combined on the line to deny Gabriel Magalhaes a leveller shortly before the hour.

Arsenal cranked up the pressure in the second half but were unable to break down Inter’s solid defensive block as the Premier League side fell to a second defeat in four days.

Barcelona beat Red Star Belgrade 5-2 in Serbia to claim sixth spot in the standings.

The Catalans took the lead on 13 minutes via a stooping header by defender Inigo Martinez.

🙌 700! pic.twitter.com/Rscwkrk05a

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 6, 2024

But Red Star struck back just prior to the half-hour when Silas Mvumpa sprang the Barca offside trap and lifted the ball past Inaki Pena.

Robert Lewandowski effectively ensured Barca stayed in the automatic qualification spots with a quick-fire double either side of the break.

Raphinha and Fermin Lopez then netted, before Felicio Milson curled in a late consolation for the hosts.

PSG in trouble

Atletico stunned PSG 2-1 in the French capital as Angel Correa’s stoppage-time winner gave the Spaniards a second Champions League win this term.

“Paris played very well, they attacked the whole match, but we were confident, we worked hard in defence and as a team, and we got our goal at the end to claim victory,” Correa said to Movistar.

The loss means the French champions sit in the elimination zone with one win and a draw from four, with matches against Manchester City and Bayern Munich to come.

Warren Zaire-Emery sent PSG ahead with a dinked finish past Jan Oblak on 14 minutes, before Nahuel Molina drilled in an equaliser four minutes later.

The home team pressed as the match wore on but left themselves exposed as Oblak’s throw found Antoine Griezmann on the break and the Frenchman’s pinpoint pass landed at the feet of Correa, who cut in and finished past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Jamal Musiala struck in the 67th minute to get Bayern Munich’s stuttering campaign back on course with a 1-0 win at home to Benfica.

The six-time winners’ record of two wins and two defeats leaves them mid-table with four matches remaining.

Aston Villa’s 100 percent record in the Champions League ended with a 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge, sparked by a bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings.

The standings at the halfway point of the league phase 👀#UCL pic.twitter.com/4jRHTj92uZ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 6, 2024

After making his debut in the competition in just his second match back after a long injury lay-off, the England centre-half gifted Brugge a penalty in the 51st minute after he picked up a short goal kick taken by Emiliano Martinez.

Hans Vanaken stroked home from 12 yards to drop Villa to eighth.

Brest continued their excellent start to life at European football’s top table, a 2-1 win at Sparta Prague taking them to fourth place.

Second-half strikes by Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo gave Europa League champions Atalanta a 2-0 win at Stuttgart.

RB Leipzig picked up their first points of the campaign with a 3-1 victory in the Netherlands against 10-man Feyenoord.

Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine defeated Young Boys 2-1, condemning the Swiss side to a fourth consecutive defeat in the competition.

‘Extremely frustrating’: Arteta

Arteta surveyed the wreckage of Arsenal’s controversial Champions League defeat at Inter Milan and insisted his spluttering side will emerge from the rubble to salvage their troubled season.

The Gunners crashed to a 1-0 loss in the San Siro on Wednesday, adding to the growing sense of turmoil around a team that was expected to mount a strong challenge for European and domestic silverware.

Arsenal have won just two of their last six games in all competitions, with those victories hardly impressive against Shakhtar Donetsk in Europe and second-tier Preston in the League Cup.

Arteta’s team are languishing in fifth place in the Premier League, already seven points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s crucial London derby at Chelsea.

Hampered for weeks by the absence of captain Martin Odegaard – who finally returned from injury as a late substitute against Inter – Arsenal have looked a shadow of the vibrant team that took last season’s title race to the final day of the season.

Odegaard’s creativity and tenacious pressing has been sorely missed, while Arteta has also had to deal with injuries to Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber, as well as a rash of red cards that cost him the services of Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard.

As if their on-pitch travails weren’t concerning enough, Arteta has seen his trusted sporting director Edu make a shock exit from the Emirates Stadium.

Edu, who has a agreed a deal in principle to accept a similar role at Nottingham Forest, resigned at the start of this week after overseeing a major revamp of Arsenal’s squad since joining in 2019.

The 46-year-old shared a strong bond with Arteta, with whom he has transformed Arsenal into title contenders.

“We have been together on this journey since day one. He was instrumental for me to be where I am and I loved working with him. I enjoyed the journey to have him next to me,” Arteta said of Edu just before kick-off in the San Siro.

Edu scored in Arsenal’s famous 5-1 win at Inter in the Champions League group stage 21 years ago.

But history did not repeat itself on Wednesday as Arsenal attempted 20 shots, their most without scoring in a Champions League game since 2006 against CSKA Moscow.

Arteta launched a staunch defence of his players, claiming they were denied by refereeing mistakes rather than their own failings against Inter.

“The worst thing is the result, because of the performance and attitude we showed against one of the best teams in Europe in their stadium,” he said.

“It’s extremely frustrating because there were two decisions against us. If their one is a penalty then we should have one when Mikel Merino is punched in the head.

“Of all the big games we have played in Europe, this was the best I have seen from my team in the last two years.”

Arsenal cannot afford another setback against Chelsea this weekend if they are to remain in the hunt for a first English title since 2004 after successive runners-up finishes.

Arteta stuck to his upbeat assessment of Arsenal’s unexpected plight, saying: “If we play the way we played tonight, the team has a big chance to win at Chelsea.

“That is the way we have to go. I have told them I am proud of them. We are disappointed because we didn’t get what we wanted out of the game that is for sure.”

Despite Arteta’s optimism, there are worrying signs that Arsenal’s hopes of finally dethroning Manchester City might be destined to end in disappointment.