| Minute | Text commentary |
| 48' | Inter go into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead over Sporting Lisbon, Hernan Crespo the scorer on 36 minutes. |
| 47' | Crespo's near-post effort from Stankovic's corner is off-target. |
| 46' | Stankovic floats a ball over to Crespo on the right side of the area. The Serbian's pass is intercepted. Corner for Inter. |
| 45' | 3 minutes of added time. |
| 43' | Stankovic's low, central effort from distance is collected by Ricardo. |
| 42' | Materazzi makes a headed clearance from a Tello cross, conceding a corenr. Tello's goalbound shot from the corner is deflected out for another corner by... Materazzi. |
| 40' | Free kick for Sporting on the right. Julio Cesar blocks Tello's dangerous inswinging cross. The flag goes up for offside, with Alecsandro the culprit. |
| 36' | GOOOAAALLLLL!!!! Hernan Crespo beats the offside trap to meet a Stankovic through ball and picks his spot before smashing past Ricardo from inside the Sporting area. That's the Argentine's 10th Champions League goal for Inter. |
| 35' | Corner for Sporting. Tello plays back to Moutinho whose right-wing cross into the box is headed wide by Tonel. |
| 33' | Polga smashes clear after a Zanetti run down the left and his resulting cross. |
| 30' | Sporting hit back at the Nerazzurri. Farnerud drags a 20-yard shot several yards wide of the left post. |
| 30' | Zanetti, making his 100th European appearance for Inter tonight, bursts down the left and tries a one-two with Crespo. The Inter captain is beaten to the return ball. |
| 29' | Free kick for Inter. Stankovic's outswinging cross is headed clear by the Lisbon defence. |
| 28' | Good approach play by Patrick Vieira, who shrugs off a challenge before feeding through to Ibrahimovic. The Swedish forward turns and loses control in the Sporting area. |
| 27' | Abel, who replaced Caneira in the 15th minute, is replaced by Miguel Veloso. |
| 26' | Ibra gets to the by-line and crosses for Crespo. Ricardo gets to the ball first. |
| 26' | Mountino clears an Inter left-wing free kick as Sporting prepare to make their second substitution. |
| 25' | Sporting could be forced to make a second switch as Abel appears to have sustained a leg injury. |
| 24' | Paredes booked for timewasting. |
| 24' | The Serbian's cross from the right is cleared by Sporting defender Polga. |
| 23' | Inter win a free kick in a central position 40 yards out for a Paredes foul on Dacourt. |
| 23' | Stankovic plays wide to Maicon who is fouled by Farnerud, and it's another Nerazzurri free kick. |
| 22' | Crespo is tackled just inside the Sporting box after receiving from Vieira. Ricardo smothers the loose ball. |
| 19' | Moutinho's inswinging cross from the free kick is goalbound, but Julio Cesar is on hand and grasps the ball. |
| 19' | Maicon booked for a two-footed challenge on Nani who dribbled both the Brazilian and Dacourt during a mazy run down the left. |
| 18' | Sporting keeper Ricardo beats Crespo to an excellent ball in from the right by Maicon. |
| 16' | Grosso has another go from the distance. It's slightly higher this time, and off-target again. |
| 16' | Ibra is bundled off the ball by Polga after a storming run down the right by Maicon. Free kick to Inter 25 yards out. |
| 15' | Sporting bring on Abel for Caneira, who is unable to continue. |
| 14' | Julio Cesar catches Alecsandro's dangerous right-wing cross. |
| 13' | Free kick to Inter in a central position 30 yards out for a foul by Farnerud on Ibrahimovic. |
| 13' | Grosso takes a long run-up and sends his left-foot strike a yard wide of the left post. |
| 12' | Sporting momentarily down to ten men as Caneira limps to the touchline after a duel with Materazzi. |
| 11' | Moutinho turns before firing high and wide from just outside the Inter area after receiving from Nani. |
| 10' | Corner for Inter. Fabio Grosso crosses for his Italy team-mate Materazzi, who is beaten to the ball. |
| 8' | The Nerazzurri counter at Sporting after a midfield mistake by the visitors. Ibrahimovic sweeps wide to Stankovic who crosses from the right wing. Crespo's effort on the turn is blocked by Tonel. |
| 8' | Inter attack Sporting with Maicon, Vieira, Crespo and Ibra. The latter floats a ball into the box where Joao Moutinho chests back to his keeper. |
| 6' | Fabio Grosso gallops down the left, gets to the edge of the Sporting box and delivers a low cross. Polga clears for Sporting. |
| 4' | Dejan Stankovic receives a forward pass from Dacourt, advances several yards and unleashes a right-foot shot from 30 yards which is blocked by the Sporting defence. |
| 2' | Inter have a Crespo goal disallowed. The Nerazzurri hit Sporting on the break after a Portuguese attack. Ibrahimovic takes on two in the area before serving the Argentine who turns and finds the bottom right corner, but the flag goes up for offside. |
| 1' | Welcome to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, where an Inter victory over Sporting Lisbon in Champions League Matchday 5 tonight will see the Nerazzurri through to the knockout phase. |
| 1' | Franck De Bleeckere blows his whistle and we're under way at the Meazza as Sporting Lisbon kick off. FORZA INTER!!! |
| 1' | Sporting: 1 Ricardo; 12 Caneira, 13 Tonel, 4 Polga, 11 Tello; 76 Paredes, 28 Joao Moutinho, 27 Custodio, 18 Nani, 21 Farnerud; 19 Alecsandro. |
| 1' | Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 2 Cordoba, 23 Materazzi, 11 Grosso; 4 Zanetti, 15 Dacourt, 14 Vieira, 5 Stankovic; 18 Crespo, 8 Ibrahimovic. |
| Minute | Text commentary |
| 48' | Full time. Inter beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 and are through to the Champions League last sixteen with Matchday 6 still to play. |
| 48' | Cambiasso boots clear as Sporting mount a late charge for an equaliser. |
| 48' | Ricardo saves an Ibra shot from distance. |
| 47' | Polga heads a Stankovic cross back to Ricardo to deny Ibrahimovic an attempt on goal. |
| 47' | Cambiasso gets a cross in from the by-line. Crespo is tackled after meeting the ball. |
| 46' | Excellent shot on the turn by Ibrahimovic. It's just wide of Ricardo's left-hand post. |
| 45' | 3 minutes of added time. |
| 45' | Inter replace the impressive Olivier Dacourt (physical problem) with Nicolas Burdisso. |
| 42' | Good chance for Crespo. The Argentine receives in the box from Stankovic and sends a shot on target. Ricardo makes a difficult save. |
| 41' | Stankovic's inswinging cross from the left for Crespo is intercepted and headed clear by Polga. |
| 40' | Corner for Sporting. Martins' shot from Nani's cut-back takes a deflection. Another Sporting corner. Alecsandro's near-post header from Nani's cross is wide. |
| 38' | Esteban Cambiasso replaces Grosso to make his return to competitive action for the Nerazzurri. The Argentine comes on to an ovation from the Meazza faithful. |
| 37' | Materazzi's rocket shot from the free kick is punched clear by Ricardo. |
| 36' | Maicon wins Inter a free kick after a surging run. Custodio wins a yellow card for his challenge on the Brazilian. |
| 36' | Materazzi rises in the box to intercept and head clear a cross for Alecsandro. Carlos Martins' rising shot from the loose ball is over the bar. |
| 35' | Ibrahimovic has a go from the free kick, forcing Ricardo to make a good save. |
| 34' | Free kick to Inter 30 yards out following a Paredes foul on Ibra. |
| 33' | Maicon hooks clear a Sporting cross from the right wing. |
| 32' | Maicon tests Ricardo with a thunderous strike from distance. |
| 32' | Zanetti chases an Ibra ball down the left, forcing Ricardo to come out of his area to clear. |
| 30' | Dejan Stankovic's low 30-yard free kick is saved by Ricardo. |
| 29' | Inter close to a second after a superb passing move. Hernan Crespo just fails to make contact with Fabio Grosso's low cross in from the left, for what would have been a certain goal. |
| 28' | Polga wins a duel with Ibrahimovic as the Inter number eight tries to muscle his way through on goal. |
| 27' | Moutinho returns to the pitch but how useful he can be to his team remains to be seen. |
| 26' | Stankovic's volley from Ibrahimovic's chested pass is over the Portuguese crossbar. |
| 25' | We're under way again at the Meazza with Sporting curently down to ten men. |
| 24' | Play interrupted as Moutinho receives medical assistance. Not good news for the visitors, who have already used up their substitutions. |
| 24' | Dejan Stankovic booked for a foul from behind on Moutinho. |
| 23' | Inter have a penalty claim turned down after Maicon goes down in the Sporting box as he runs to meet a return pass from Patrick Vieira. |
| 22' | Tonel's cross-shot from 35 yards is dangerously on target, but Julio Cesar saves on the line to keep the Nerazzurri in front. |
| 21' | Nani's shot from distance is over Julio Cesar's bar. |
| 20' | At the other end, Nani crosses to the far side from the right wing. Maicon beats Paredes to the ball and cleans up in defence. |
| 20' | Free kick to Inter out on the right flank. Maicon's ball into the Portuguese box is headed clear by Polga. |
| 17' | Two good interventions from Vieira and Cordoba as Sporting look for openings down the left. |
| 13' | Materazzi makes a headed clearance from a Martins cross. Nani's shot from the loose ball is way wide. |
| 12' | Maicon has a go from 30 yards. The Brazilian's right-foot effort is well wide of the target. |
| 12' | Sporting make their third and final substitution. Carlos Martins replaces Farnerud. |
| 11' | Nani booked for a bad tackle on Fabio Grosso. |
| 10' | Polga blocks a Vieira cross from the right and plays a long ball forward for Alecsandro, whose low first-time shot is saved by Julio Cesar. |
| 7' | Nani's effort from the resulting free kick is high and wide. |
| 7' | Free kick to Sporting for what De Bleeckere interprets as a foul by Materazzi on Alecsandro. But there was no contact with the Sporting forward. |
| 4' | Ibrahimovic combines well with Stankovic as Inter hit Sporting on the break. The Swedish forward drifts into the area from the left channel before crossing for Vieira. Farnerud intercepts. |
| 2' | Materazzi beats Alecsandro to a Tello ball from the left and makes a headed clearance. |
| 1' | Inter kick off the second half. FORZA RAGAZZI!!! |
| 1' | Tello's whipped cross from the left is headed clear by Maicon. |