Some things are reassuringly familiar and nothing perhaps more so at the moment than Inter’s ability to capitulate as soon as the pressure is on in the Champions League.
Real Madrid went into Wednesday's 2-0 win in Italy in trouble. Borussia Monchengladbach’s victory over Shakhtar earlier in the day had, barring a sudden return to form for Shakhtar–effectively made it a straight shootout between Inter and Madrid for the second spot in the knockout stage from their group. Madrid, having beaten Inter a touch fortuitously at home three weeks ago, led Antonio Conte’s side by two points. At the San Siro, where Madrid had never previously beaten Inter, this was an opportunity for Inter to overtake a side without Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema that has already dropped 10 points from nine games in La Liga.