st-étienne draw blank again in ınter stalemate published: thursday 23 october 2014, 23.50cet fc ınternazionale milano 0-0 as saint-étienne both sides are yet to concede in the group stage after the visitors earned a third successive scoreless group f draw in milan.
• ınter top group f after goalless draw in milan • visitors closest in even first period through franck tabanou free-kick • neither side could grab winner in open second half • third successive 0-0 draw for st-étienne in group • next games: st-étienne v ınter (6 november)
as saint-étienne earned a third consecutive goalless draw in group f by holding section leaders fc ınternazionale milano in ıtaly.
with neither side having conceded in their opening two it was no surprise that things were cagey early on as both sides struggled to find space and create good opportunities. ınter had the first after 12 minutes when a good pass from former verts midfielder fredy guarín put mauro ıcardi through with only stéphane ruffier to beat but the striker fired over and wide from a promising position.
ruffier then did well to rush out and block guarín from close with his body after the colombian international had slipped past his marker in the st-étienne box. at the other end kévin théophile-catherine just missed the target with his header from franck tabanou's corner from the right.
the visitors went close again on the stroke of half-time but ınter goalkeeper juan pablo carrizo dived well to his right to palm wide a powerful free-kick by tabanou which seemed destined for the top corner. the second half was more entertaining with both sides trying to break the deadlock. zdravko kuzmanović forced ruffier into a difficult save with a low shot from inside the box, while tabanou and romain hamouma tested carrizo from good positions in quick succession.
ınter substitute hernanes tried his luck from distance two minutes from time but was denied by ruffier as ınter had to settle with one point after starting the group stage with two consecutive victories.
