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MILAN – This evening the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will host its first ever encounter between the Nerazzurri and an Icelandic side. This is just one of the facts provided by Football Data as we prepare for the opening whistle of Inter v Stjarnan at 20:45.
Inter: just one home loss in last 16 matches
Only Atalanta, in their 2-1 Serie A win on 23 March, have been capable of a victory at the San Siro over Inter’s last 16 competitive matches. The other results consist of seven victories and eight draws.
Italian winning streak against Icelandic clubs
Italian teams have always come away as winners in their five previous European encounters against Icelandic teams. The goal difference stands at 22 Italian goals and one Icelandic goal; this statistic includes the Nerazzurri’s first-leg 3-0 win at Stjarnan and the home and away games between Juventus and Valur (1986/87 European Cup), and Torino and KR (1991/92 UEFA Cup).
Stjarnan scoreless for 222 minutes
The last goal for the Icelandic side in European competition came courtesy of Toft on 48 minutes in the 1-0 win over Polish side Lech Poznan on 31 July. We can then include the remaining 42 minutes of that match, plus the entire return game in Poznan (0-0), as well as the loss against Inter (0-3 in Reykjavik).
Austrian Lechner to officiate
Refereeing the game will be 40-year-old Harald Lechner, who has been an international since 2010. This will be the Austrian’s ninth European match (which so far consist of four home victories, three draws and one away win) and his first time in charge of a game featuring either Inter or Stjarnan. Furthermore, it will be his first time refereeing a game that features either an Italian or an Icelandic side.
Two seconds
Today’s match will be the second ever encounter between coaches Walter Mazzarri and Runar Pall Sigmundsson as well as the second meeting between Stjarnan and an Italian club after the Nerazzurri’s 3-0 first-leg win in Reykjavik on 20 August.
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