Inter coach Cristian Chivu takes responsibility for Tuesday’s loss to Club Brugge, but insists it ‘would be too easy to abandon the press’ and confirms Lautaro Martinez will return after the November international break.
Inter suffered a 4-3 home loss against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday. Tomorrow, the Nerazzurri return to action in Serie A in an away game at Bologna, but their recent European setback remains a big talking point.
Bologna vs. Inter – Chivu’s press conference
“It’s a different competition from the Champions League, and we’re playing four days later,” Chivu said via FCInternews.
“The team had two days to recover, and we had a good training session together today. We discovered an issue with Lautaro after the match. He will be unavailable.
“Raffaele Palladino has been at the club for a month; he’s changed the formation and given the team an identity based on vertical play and intensity, qualities the team already had under Italiano. They are well organised with plenty of energy. If you don’t win individual battles, you can find yourself in trouble,
“We accept our responsibilities. Something didn’t work in the final 30 minutes against Brugge, but we mustn’t lose sight of what we did well in the first hour, up until we went 2–1 ahead,” Chivu continued.
“We created a lot and entered the second half with the right attitude, producing two major chances. Then everything collapsed after the second goal. We have to analyse it as two matches within one. We need to react and find new energy as quickly as possible. We mustn’t feel sorry for ourselves; we need to respond.”
Inter have already conceded eight goals in six Serie A matches and six more in two Champions League games; so what do they need to regain solidity at the back?
“It has to begin with me. I’m the one primarily responsible,” Chivu replied.
“We need to develop a shared mindset and take responsibility. This is a group of fantastic players; we just need to find unity and reconnect with the different moments of a match without allowing adversity to bring us down.
“We must not turn it [the defeat against Club Brugge] into a drama, even if it hurts, because expectations were high.
“It was a win we could have taken, and I say it with the utmost respect for the opponent. They were well organised and caused us problems when we declined mentally. We lost our confidence and became confused. We reacted emotionally instead of staying organised.”
Lautaro Martinez scored a brace against Club Brugge, but also suffered an injury during the game and will remain out of action for circa one month, also missing the Milan derby later this month.
“I’m not a doctor. I’ve been told that this is the recovery time. We are talking about him returning after the break,” Chivu said.
“We simply need to do what we’ve always done, both with and without Lautaro. Everyone has to demonstrate leadership and help us pursue greater ambitions.”
Will Ange-Yoan Bonny get more chances following Lautaro’s injury?
“He impressed me at the beginning of this season. He’s always shown his quality when he has come on,” Chivu said.
“We have a great striker at our disposal. We know his worth, and his moment to start will come. In the meantime, we are extremely happy with what he contributes in the closing stages of games. We’re happy with what he’s doing.”
Inevitably, there were more questions about the team’s organisation and their loss against Club Brugge.
“I take responsibility for the team’s organisation. I must give the players greater certainty. I can’t control much once they’re on the pitch, but I can be more incisive in explaining how things should be done,” Chivu said.
“I can’t change everything too drastically; we need to find the right motivation. We have to improve the details, but we shouldn’t discard everything we did on Tuesday. When we maintained the right distances, we forced our opponents to give us the ball.
“The problem arose when we pressed incorrectly, and from that perspective, I take responsibility. At the same time, I want to preserve the enthusiasm and desire to push forward and win the ball back. It would be easier to abandon the press, but we need to improve our cohesion and communication on the pitch. Generally speaking, you won’t get far in football if you play slowly.”
Josep Martinez has also been criticised following Inter’s loss, and Chivu did not deny that Ivan Provedel could be involved in the coming games.
“Provedel has my respect and trust. I consider him a goalkeeper who will help us significantly,” the Inter coach concluded.