Manchester City's quest to win the Champions League again started with a goalless draw against Inter Milan at the Etihad.
One of the highlights of the new expanded format of the Champions League was that the continent's elite teams met more often before the knockout phase.
The replay of the 2023 final, won 1-0 by City, was unimpressive. Inter may regret not being able to inflict a first European home defeat in six years on Pep Guardiola's side.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the best chance of the match 15 minutes before the end.
City have started their Premier League title defense in ruthless fashion with four straight wins, but have failed to draw against Inter in the Champions League.
Rodri, who scored the winner when City and Inter met in Istanbul 15 months ago, was in Guardiola's starting line-up for the first time this season.
Despite his presence, Inter managed possession, often breaking through City's press, but lacked the composure in the final third to capitalize on chances.
Simone Inzaghi left captain Lautaro Martinez on the bench and Mehdi Taremi and Marcus Thuram were preferred up front.
In the first half, Thuram had the best chance to score, but from the edge of the penalty area he shot wide.
At the other end, Erling Holland found Inter to be far tougher than the teams he faced this season, netting nine times in four Premier League games.
The Norwegian came closest to breaking the deadlock before the end of the first half with a shot that went inches wide of Jan Sommer's goal.
Kevin De Bruyne was replaced at the break along with Savinho. Guardiola brought on Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden to inject life into City's attack.
However, the game continued to be sloppy and chances for both teams were few and far between.
Matteo Darmian squandered a good chance by making a mistake trying to find Nicolo Barella, sparking a wild outburst of frustration from his manager.
After a complex City attack that featured Jack Grealish and Gundogan, Foden was brought on for Sommer, who saved a clean sheet 20 minutes from time.
Minutes later, Gundogan had a chance to seal the win with the last touch of the game, but his header was not enough.
The remaining results of the matches on September 18:
Bruges (Belgium) - Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 0:3
PSG (France) - Girona (Spain) 1:0
Celtic (Scotland) - Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) 5:1
Bologna (Italy) - Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 0:0
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) - RB Salzburg (Austria) 3:0. | BGNES
