Inter Milan will look to win their first league game on Tuesday when they host Red Star Belgrade at San Siro, following a hard-fought draw in their Champions League opener.
Red Star is still waiting for their first away victory in UEFA's premier club competition since the end of the European Cup era, despite Inter being a powerful force at home.
After finishing second to Manchester City in the 2023 Champions League final—their best season since winning the title 13 years prior—Inter faced the English champions once more on the first day of play this season.
Equipped with a strategy, Simone Inzaghi's club played a deep defense and, in the end, became just the second team in Europe's top tournament to prevent a City team led by Pep Guardiola from scoring at home.
The three-time European winners have only lost two of their previous 16 games and have kept 13 clean sheets in their last 22 top-tier games, which is the most by any team since the 2022–2023 season began.
The Serie A team is also unbeaten in nine home Champions League games, which is their best run since defeating Bayern Munich in the 2010 final, further solidifying their standing as favorites to win this year's competition.
The Nerazzurri, however, had lost their previous three games, including their trip to Manchester, before winning 3-2 over the weekend in Udine to recover from a heartbreaking derby loss to AC Milan.
Following Inter's late loss in the Derby della Madonnina, Davide Frattesi eased any anxieties by opening the score inside the first minute, and captain Lautaro Martinez finally grabbed his first club goals of the season to see off Udinese.
There have only been two prior encounters between Inter and the guests on Tuesday, when the Italian powerhouses advanced 2-1 on aggregate in the 1980–81 European Cup quarterfinals.
Red Star Belgrade will try to snap a record that dates back to December 2005 when they return to San Siro. Including qualifications, they have lost all eight of their games against Serie A teams.
After losing five of their six games to finish fourth in their group the previous season, Crvena Zvezda went on to win the Serbian league for a record seven times in a row. They also defeated Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League playoffs to guarantee their spot in the next league phase.
Despite Felicio Milson's late goal, Red Star lost against Benfica 2-0 in the first half of the matchday, and their coach Vladan Milojevic's team was unable to salvage a point at the Marakana.
They quickly overcame that setback by defeating Partizan Belgrade in their greatest Eternal Derby triumph of the century. They then defeated Zeleznicar Pancevo 2-1 in a thrilling 4-0 victory to maintain their league undefeated record this year.
Winning eight of nine games so far - scoring 27 goals and conceding just five - puts them back on top of the pack in Serbia, but reproducing that success on the European scene has proved hard.
Only two teams have played more away games in the Champions League without winning a single game than Red Star, who have lost all nine of their away games thus far.
