Soccer Football - Champions League - Inter Milan v RB Leipzig - San Siro, Milan, Italy - November 26, 2024 RB Leipzig's Castello Lukeba scores Inter Milan's first with an own goal REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
MILAN (Reuters) - An own goal by RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba gave Inter Milan a 1-0 home win in the Champions League on Tuesday as the Italian champions provisionally moved top of the standings.
Unbeaten Inter top the table with 13 points from five games, one point above second-placed Barcelona - who beat Brest 3-0 - and third-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand and host defending champions Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Inter dominated the first half and took the lead in the 27th minute after Lukeba turned the ball into Leipzig's own net following Federico Dimarco's free kick.
Dimarco, making his first Champions League start of the season, curled a cross into the box and the ball bounced in off the 21-year-old's foot.
The hosts looked set for a comfortable victory, however Simone Inzaghi's men slowed their pace significantly after the break.
Leipzig sensed their chance and grew into the clash, and Inter keeper Yann Sommer pulled off a brilliant save when he denied a low attempt from Antonio Nusa in the 69th minute.
The visitors, who came into the match as one of five teams to have lost their first four games, were without midfielder Xavi Simons, sidelined with an ankle injury.
They were also without defender Lukas Klostermann, who joined an already long absentee list after he was forced off with a calf injury at halftime of their 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Inter, meanwhile, had Hakan Calhanoglu back after a thigh injury, and Lautaro Martinez started up front alongside Mehdi Taremi after the Argentina striker was sick following his return from international duty.
Inter continued to skate on thin ice as they risked conceding a late equaliser before Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had doubled their lead in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul by Marcus Thuram.
They managed to avoid a slip-up and maintained their perfect defensive record in the competition as the only team yet to concede a goal at this point of their European campaign.
Inter have won four consecutive games without conceding for the first time in Europe's top-tier competition, after a run of three in 1966-67 and 2009-10.
They beat Red Star Belgrade 4-0, Young Boys 1-0 and Arsenal 1-0 after opening their campaign with a goalless draw at Manchester City.
Three-times champions Inter, who are third in Serie A and one point off leaders Napoli, next visit German champions Bayer Leverkusen on Dec. 10.
Leipzig, still in search of their first points of the league phase after five consecutive losses in the competition, host Aston Villa the same day.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Toby Davis)
