Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi has provided his take on the Nerazzurri’s showdown with Benfica, praising his players for their part in ‘a memorable match’.
Inzaghi, of course, guided his troops back into action a short time ago. Already assured of their place in the competition’s knockout rounds, Inter made the trip to Lisbon, for a meeting with Portuguese giants Benfica.
After failing to emerge from the blocks with any sort of verve or vigour, a heavily rotated Nerazzurri outfit were soon punished, by way of a first-half hat-trick on the part of a one-time member of their own midfield setup, in Joao Mario.
To their credit, though, the visitors emerged on the other side of the interval looking completely rejuvenated, setting the stage for a remarkable comeback courtesy of Marko Arnautovic, Davide Frattesi, and Alexis Sanchez.
Speaking to the media post-match, Simone Inzaghi was therefore keen to focus on the positives.
After taking his share of the blame for Inter’s dismal opening 45 minutes, the Italian tactician went as far as to suggest that his side were perhaps a touch unlucky not to emerge with all three points.
“Having seen a reaction like that and having come close to winning, I take a lot of good things from the second half,” Inzaghi explained to Mediaset Infinity, as cited by TuttomercatoWeb. “We all should’ve done more in the first half, including myself, as we had a really sluggish approach.”
“I have 20 first team players and I can count on them all. It would’ve been easy to change four or five at the break, but the fault lay with the whole team and not any individuals.
“We stepped out there with a different spirit, also making a few tactical adjustments. With Barella’s effort, we could’ve won a memorable match.”
Conor Laird | GIFN
