Fluminense failed to have a shot on target in their goalless final group match, but pressing Inter high allowed them not only to have an effort on goal, but take the lead inside three minutes.
After winning the ball in their opponents’ half, Jhon Arias’ cross from the right took a huge deflection and bounced kindly for German Cano, who nodded home.
When the Nerazzurri finally ventured forward in the 11th minute, Federico Dimarco forced a strong stop from Fabio after collecting a neat cutback from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
That chance ushered in 20 minutes of territorial dominance for the Italian side, but they struggled to break down the Tricolour, and Fluminense subsequently ventured forward themselves after half an hour. Arias fired off a strike from 25 yards, which Yann Sommer palmed straight to Samuel Xavier, who dragged his effort wide from close range.
At the other end, Dimarco was still the only player testing Fabio, and the Brazilian shot-stopper kept out a low free-kick shortly before Fluminense thought they had gone 2-0 up.
Intricate headed passes inside the area set up Ignacio to also use his head to finish, but he was offside when the ball was played to him.
An unfortunate statistic for Cristian Chivu’s men was that their opponents hadn’t conceded a second-half goal in seven matches, and that looked set to continue when a wayward Stefan de Vrij strike from range was the only Inter effort in the opening 15 minutes after the break.
Arias was still fancying himself from distance, and another curling shot had to be tipped around the post by the fingertips of Sommer.
Inter fans were briefly on their feet as the match entered its final quarter when a dinked cross to the back post was nodded down by Lautaro Martínez to De Vrij, but he couldn’t hit the target from inside the six-yard box.
With 10 minutes to play, Martinez came alive for Inter, yet saw two strikes saved by Fabio and another hit the upright.
The Italians threw everything at Fluminense late on, leaving space at the back for Hercules to exploit and steer in the second goal.
On top of that, Renato Gaúcho’s side held out for a third clean sheet of the tournament, which extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches.
Inter, meanwhile, have now lost both of their competitive matches against Brazilian opposition without scoring, and will now return home to concentrate on preparing for the new campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jhon Arias (Fluminense)
Click here for more about the match.
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