Inter kick-started their Champions League redemption story with a 2-0 win against Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena, thanks to Marcus Thuram's double.

The Nerazzurri were hammered 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in last season's final, while they have made an underwhelming start to their Serie A campaign.

But Cristian Chivu's team claimed a much-needed win in Amsterdam on Wednesday, with Thuram the star of the show.

Inter thought they had a penalty in the 35th minute, only for a VAR review to penalise Thuram for a foul on Youri Baas.

Ajax were presented with a golden opportunity to seize the advantage in the 40th minute, when Mika Godts was put through one-on-one with Yann Sommer, but the Swiss shot-stopper stood firm to deny the Belgian forward.

Inter made Ajax pay two minutes later, as a towering Thuram header from an out-swinging Hakan Calhanoglu corner saw the visitors break the deadlock.

And it was the same story just two minutes after the restart, as Thuram met another outswinger from Calhanoglu, and duly nodded past Vitezslav Jaros in the Ajax goal. 

Inter were good value for the win, limiting Ajax to scraps in the second half until Kasper Dolberg flashed a late effort wide, with the hosts managing just two shots on target.

Data Debrief: Thuram and Calhanoglu's set-piece prowess

Thuram has now scored five goals in his last eight Champions League outings, recording his second brace in the competition on Wednesday. His first came in October 2020 for Borussia Monchengladbach, when he netted twice against Real Madrid.

His efforts here were almost carbon copies of each other, and it is only the fourth instance in Champions League history of a player scoring two headed goals from corner assists by the same team-mate, following Thiago Motta via Ezequiel Lavezzi (2013), Robert Lewandowski via Joshua Kimmich (2018), and Luuk de Jong via Joey Veerman (2023).

Simone Inzaghi may have left, but Inter's set-pieces continue to be a strength. Since the start of last season, they have scored six goals from corners in the Champions League, more than any other team.

Calhanoglu, meanwhile, provided two assists in a single game in the competition for the second time. The first occasion came back in October 2014, for Bayer Leverkusen against Zenit.