The words of the Inter coach after the 3-3 against the Portuguese in the Champions League: ‘If Barella score that goal…’
Inter drew 3-3 away at Benfica in the Champions League, coming back in the second half from a three-goal deficit accumulated in the first half. Simone Inzaghi commented after the game like this: ‘With this reaction and having come very close to victory, I take the many positive aspects of the second half. We approached the game poorly; everyone, including myself, we all had to do more at the beginning. In the Champions League, you can’t afford to get out on the field with that mentality.’
Everything changed during halftime; Inter returned to the field with 3 goals deficit but managed to balance the match, even coming close to winning with Barella hitting the post in injury time. Inzaghi explained the lack of substitutions, saying, ‘I know I can rely on everyone. It would have been easy to make 4-5 changes, perhaps I should have made more than the ones I did. But it wasn’t like any individual was to blame for the result. We talked, made some tactical adjustments, and came back on the field with a new spirit. If that post by Barella went in…’
To close the Champions League group as a leader, Inter will need to beat Real Sociedad in the final match at San Siro. Inzaghi stated, ‘We’ll give it a go, but now let’s focus on recovering well because the game against Napoli awaits us on Sunday, and it will be very difficult.'”
