A completely different year, but the same story in the end for Inter. A 1-0 loss to Real Madrid hurts, especially conceding in the 89th min.
Signs of the Champions League campaign from last season with missed chances coming back to haunt Inter. As we saw Inter being the dominant side all match, we really shouldn’t have been kept scoreless.
Missed opportunities cost us!
A great match from Courtois sure, but many of our players missed some great chances.
Lautaro had the ball on a platter to head home in the first half, but he aimed in the middle of the goal. A bit more accuracy on the header and Inter would’ve been up 1-0, and suddenly it’s a different match.
The same could be said about Dzeko, as he pounced on a loose ball which popped up perfectly for him. The same result as Lautaro, he had all of the goal to aim at and he hit it straight into the keeper.
Strikers of this quality should really be doing better. Especially in these games where we only get a couple of opportunities. As a team, we need to make these count!
Man of the match –
It’s a tough decision after a hard loss like that, but I thought Brozovic was absolutely fantastic tonight.
At the end of the first half Brozovic had the most completed passes on the field with 65 at a 94% completion rate. He was the engine who started anything offensively for Inter, as the passing was slick out of danger.
Deep in the field, Inter commanded the midfield and that was thanks to Brozovic. He made a few crucial tackles right on the edge of the box which stopped any threats and allowed Inter to go back on the attack.
To end the match, Brozovic finished with 103 successful passes at 94% which was 36 more than any other player on the field. Also covering a kilometre more in distance than any other player.
It’s insane how much this Inter team relies on Brozovic!
Subs did the damage –
On Inter’s side the substitutions damaged Inter’s play, where on Madrid’s side the subs helped them get the win.
I really thought this was the perfect match to take off Dzeko and bring on Correa. Instead we would see Lautaro make way in that substitution. Don’t get wrong, Dzeko is still a great player but today we were lacking that other attacking dimension up front.
It would’ve been great to see the Argentine’s together, just like we saw during the international break for Argentina.
Vidal for Calhanoglu really messed up the rotation of the midfield, as no one knew who the attacking midfielder was supposed to be. We lost possession from this point on, and started playing down the wings a lot more.
Same with Vecino for Barella, it was just a strange sub near the end of the match. Not sure if Barella was fatigued or carrying a knock, but I think he should’ve played the full 90.
If we look at the goal from Rodrygo, who was Ancelotti’s sub, there was strange positioning from both Dzeko and Vecino. Firstly with Dzeko being in the exact spot where the pass to Camavinga ended up, then for some reason running forward. Secondly Vecino not following his man in Camavinga.
Don’t know if it was loss in concentration, but it was a poor passage of play from Inter when we break it down. Defensively we shouldn’t be exposed by such a simple play, but fatigue must’ve been high in this match.
Where to next?
Good question, and I really hope we have some deep reflection after this match tonight. We’ll face Bologna next with only 3 days rest. At least the game is at home so the boys won’t need to travel.
I think we can bounce back here and get that confidence into the squad again.
Prediction: Inter 2-1
As always, Forza Inter!
