Inzaghi speaks after the Monza loss: ‘We got nervous in the second half’

After the triple whistle at San Siro and a few days before the return of the Champions League quarter-finals, Simone Inzaghi analyzed and reflected on Inter’s performance against Monza for the microphones of DAZN. “We got nervous, the team wants a victory that isn’t coming,” Inzaghi said, “We had a good first half, but we got nervous and allowed the counter-attacks. A mature team must always stay in the game. I tried substitutions, but it takes more malice on my part to direct the match. The last few games have been photocopies of each other. The goalkeepers made all the saves and this defeat slows down our path and is a big disappointment.”

How could the match be better coached?
“We need to work. We prepared well for this match in two days. On the eve I was calm and then we all saw how it went. We did well because they worried us more in the first match (at Monza), but we’re talking about a heavy defeat”.

Between the league and Europe, it’s been a two-faced Inter. What is the explanation for this?
“The matches are all prepared in the right way and the team works well. It’s not true that they don’t have the motivation in the league. The numbers in the league are better. We lost when we didn’t deserve to. Then the result gives a negative perception, but you have to be good at not seeing the result but what the team did. We’re behind in the league and, we have 8 games to recover, but we’re losing heavy points.”

Do you see a difference between the Champions League and the championship or is the job always done in the same way?
“In these two and a half days I’ve seen great concentration. I was serene even though we know such things by playing so much… we’ve also seen Benfica and Chelsea struggling. As far as commitment is concerned, I have nothing to say, but the third straight defeat at the San Siro is bad for us”.

Were the formation choices more for the Lisbon match or for the San Siro match?
“I tried to change something. I had D’Ambrosio who wasn’t at his best, otherwise he would have played, but he was tired. I tried to make changes without upsetting things. I had changed in Salerno, but we still didn’t get the victory. Tonight is a photocopy. We have to affect the match because that’s what determines it. We’ve seen it firsthand. In the league, despite the numbers, we can’t get a victory and that makes us nervous even in the game.”

What don’t the statistics say and what do the sensations say? Let’s talk about the strikers’ abstinence from goals.
“For 16 months we were the best attack in Italy, now in 2023 we have an objective difficulty that affects everyone. What we have to do is work. The forwards work well, and they are convinced. But this is not enough because we also find the goalkeepers [that are just as convinced]. There’s also a mea culpa to admit, keeping in mind that I’m the coach.”