Henrikh Mkhitaryan Helps Inter Beat His Former Club in the Champions League

Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was one of the standout performers on Matchday 3 of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase, as Inter Milan secured a 1-0 home victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

The match took place on October 21 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. The only goal came in the 77th minute, courtesy of an assist from Mkhitaryan, who had entered the pitch just two minutes earlier.

The situation became more complicated for the Italian club in the 68th minute when defender Alessandro Bastoni received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Inter with ten men.

In the 75th minute, Inter head coach Cristian Chivu brought on Mkhitaryan in place of Ange-Yoan Bonny. Just two minutes later, the 37-year-old Armenian midfielder delivered a brilliant assist to Carlos Augusto, who found the back of the net against the Ukrainian side.

Mkhitaryan thus played a direct role in securing victory against his former club. The Armenian midfielder previously represented Shakhtar Donetsk from 2010 to 2013 before moving to Borussia Dortmund.

Mkhitaryan's Statistics Against Shakhtar Donetsk

Despite his limited playing time, the Armenian midfielder managed to make an impact both offensively and defensively.

Mkhitaryan's match statistics:

• Assists: 1
• Shots: 1
• Key passes: 2
• Accurate passes: 9/9 (100%)
• Tackles: 2
• Clearances: 1
• Duels won: 3
• SofaScore rating: 7.1

In addition to providing the decisive assist, Mkhitaryan also had an opportunity to score himself. However, in the 84th minute, he failed to convert a chance created by a pass from Marcus Thuram.

Italian Media Praise Mkhitaryan's Performance

Leading Italian sports media outlets gave positive assessments of the Armenian midfielder's performance.

Eurosport awarded Mkhitaryan a rating of 6.5, highlighting his excellent assist for Carlos Augusto and his outstanding technical quality.

Calciomercato also gave the Armenian midfielder a 6.5 rating. The outlet emphasized that the experienced player's introduction helped Inter settle the game, maintain possession, and restore the necessary balance following Bastoni's dismissal.

Goal.com rated Mkhitaryan even higher, awarding him a 7 and describing his assist as one of the decisive moments of the match.

With this victory, Inter collected their first three points of the current Champions League campaign, ending a run of two consecutive defeats at the start of the competition.

After three matchdays, the Milan-based club sit 21st in the overall league phase standings.