No goals conceded in Europe for 294 minutes
Inter’s defence hasn’t been breached in Europe for 294 minutes. The last goal conceded was scored by Emmanuel Adebayor in the Nerazurri’s 4-1 Europa League win over Tottenham on 14 March 2013. The last 24 minutes of that match, plus the three games played in this year’s edition of the tournament, make up the impressive record.
200 appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Cup and Europa League
Tonight marks Inter’s 200th match across the Europa League, UEFA Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The Nerazzurri have won 100 times; most recently a 1-0 victory over Dnipro in Kiev just 15 days ago. There have also been 55 draws and 44 losses, with 328 goals scored by Inter to 197 conceded. Inter are one of six teams – alongside Barcelona, Juventus, Liverpool, Sevilla and Valencia – to have won the competition three times (in 1990/91, 1993/94 and 1997/98). Inter’s debut in this level of European competition came on 15 May 1956 – a 0-0 draw at home against Birmingham City.
No wins in four for Qarabag
The Azerbaijani side are without a win in their last four European outings, racking up three draws and one loss. During that time, they’ve only managed to score one goal, in a 1-1 draw with FC Twente in their Europa League play-off on 28 August.
Belarusian Kulbakov to referee
The man in black for tonight’s match will be Kulbakov, the 35 year old Belarusian who’s been officiating at international level since 2006. Inter v Qarabag will be the second time Kulbakov has refereed an Italian team in a European encounter, after overseeing Juventus’s 2-0 Europa League win over Trabzonspor on 20 February 2014. He has never before officiated a match involving an Azerbaijani team.
Unknown territory
Today’s match is the first ever meeting between Inter and Qarabag.
Inter unbeaten against Azerbaijanis
Inter have played two previous matches against Azerbaijani teams. In the 2012/13 edition of the Europa League, the Nerazzurri twice played Neftchi Baku, managing a win in Azerbaijan and securing a draw at the Meazza.
