As the heavy favourites, Inter wasted little time in piling the pressure on a Kairat side that had taken just a point from their opening three league phase matches. Federico Dimarco’s near-post effort forced Temirlan Anarbekov into a near-post save, before Egor Sorokin made a last-ditch intervention to thwart Lautaro Martinez’s follow-up effort.
The Nerazzurri then thought they would have the chance to go to the penalty spot, only for the referee to rule that Yann Bisseck had instigated the contact from Ofri Arad following a visit to the pitchside monitor.
Despite being the dominant team, Cristian Chivu’s charges were given a couple of scares in an enthralling first half. Yann Sommer was required to make a smart reaction stop from Edmilson’s strong header, and then saw Dastan Satpayev’s fierce long-range shot skim the top of his crossbar.
After surviving those nervy moments, Inter were able to breathe a sigh of relief when Martinez found the breakthrough on the stroke of half time.
The Argentine saw his initial effort blocked before he scooped a right-foot shot in at the near post to register his fourth European goal of the season.
That proved to be Martinez’s final act before being withdrawn at the break, ensuring he reduced to the role of a shocked spectator when Kairat netted a surprise leveller in the opening stages of the second period.
Arad pounced on a loose looping ball from a corner to calmly direct his header into the corner, becoming the first player to score against Inter in the 2025/26 league phase.
Angered by losing their clean sheet record, Inter soon restored their slender advantage through Carlos Augusto, who drove a low strike beyond Anarbekov after being teed up by Francesco Pio Esposito on the edge of the box.
Augusto’s first UCL goal proved enough to seal a fifth consecutive home win all competitions, moving Inter up to third spot in the league phase and leaving spirited Kairat down in 34th spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Carlos Augusto (Inter Milan)