Mkhitaryan in the Champions League: How the Italian media assessed his match against Ajax

Inter secured a confident 2–0 away victory over Ajax in the first round of the 2025/26 Champions League. Both goals were scored by French striker Marcus Thuram.

Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan spent 69 minutes on the pitch, received a yellow card, and posted the following stats:

• Minutes played: 69
• Accurate passes: 19 (90%)
• Long passes: 1/1
• Duels won: 2/4
• Ball losses: 2
• Fouls: 2
• Yellow cards: 1
• Clearances: 1
• Interceptions: 2
• Tackles: 2
• SofaScore rating: 6.8

Here’s how Italian media rated Mkhitaryan’s game:

• Passioneinter – 6.5: Did a lot of linking work, often pushing higher up the pitch, almost as a second striker. His actions weren’t flashy but helped press Ajax and facilitated attacking play.

• 90min – 5.5: The dullest Inter player. Tried to press opponents but often fouled. Eventually received a yellow card.

• Fcinternews – 6: Showed no signs of progress compared to Turin. Starting after a full match vs Juventus was a surprise. Not in his best form, made mistakes in positioning and technique, including one that let Godts go one-on-one with Sommer. Still contributed defensively.

• Sport.virgilio – 6: Quiet but useful in midfield.

• Calciomercato – 6: Started cautiously, but during Godts’ chance he held the line too high. Afterwards was tightly marked by Ajax defender Regeer.

• Tuttomercatoweb – 5.5: Surprisingly started for the third time in the first four games of the season. Looked shaky early on, made a risky clearance mistake gifting Godts a chance, but later stabilized.

• Leggo – 6: Played more aggressively than usual, as if he wanted to prove something after the Juventus match. Worked hard but far from top form.

Other Champions League results of the day

• Ajax – Inter 0:2

• Olympiacos – Pafos 0:0

• Slavia Prague – Bodø/Glimt 2:2

• Bayern – Chelsea 3:1

• Liverpool – Atlético 3:2

• PSG – Atalanta 4:0