Inter Executed Out Of Europe

For the third season in a row, Inter exited from the Champions League at the group stage. But by far, this has been the MOST disappointing, frustrating and under-whelming campaign of all three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t1eWtoGsCg

VAR Decisions Against Us

Granted that we were not in an “easy” group but I don’t feel we were inferior to any of our opponents including Real Madrid. After exiting the tournament, Antonio Conte spoke about VAR decisions going against us and yes that played a part. Real Madrid’s first goal in their 3-2 win in Madrid should not have stood for a push on Achraf Hakimi. We should have got a penalty in the away game against Shakthar Donestk when Romelu Lukaku was held back. But blaming that is clutching at straws.

Costly Errors

We made costly individual mistakes to allow Borussia Monchengladbach to come back into the game and take the lead at San Siro. We were completely dominant before that. The culprit, Arturo Vidal is one of Conte’s much-vaunted signings. A signing that was made to give us greater experience at this level turned out to have an opposite effect. He was also guilty of leaving us down to ten men in the first half against our toughest opponent, Real Madrid.

Frustration Against Shakhtar

We might have dominated both games against Shakhtar Donestk but after both games, I feel the same level of frustration, the kind that makes you want to punch something. We couldn’t score a single goal against them and they are the team that conceded ten goals over two games against Monchengladbach. We were unlucky in both games to hit the crossbar and their goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin made a couple of great saves in both games. But we got ourselves to blame for messing up the final pass or cross in the attack. Lautaro Martinez was also guilty of missing a sitter in the first game. How that miss came back to haunt us?

Conte’s Tactics

Tactically, Antonio Conte stuck to the same formation for all matches and we were either neutralised or exposed for it. He said he has a Plan B but we have not seen it. In the most crucial of matches, our last match against Shakhtar where we were chasing a victory, Plan B was not used. Substitutions were made too late for them to make any meaningful impact despite the obvious tiring legs on the pitch from before the substitutions were made. I cannot fault the players for effort but the team was playing at one tempo from the start. We didn’t move up the gear as the match wore on. That hunger and desire to get a win by going all out was missing and that stems from the manager. I understand that he was wary of Shakthar’s swift counter-attacks but there came a point in the game where we needed to risk it a bit more. That point came too late.

Conte’s Dismal European Record

Antonio Conte has had a dismal record in Europe as a manager. In three out of the four seasons, he has been in the Champions League, his team has been eliminated from the group stage. The furthest he has gone is to the quarter-final. Across three clubs, he has only managed to get nine wins out of twenty-eight games played. We did well to get to the final of the Europa League last season but I suspect if it had been part of a regular season, we might have faltered somewhere before that.

Pressure On Conte

Inter’s exit from Europe would affect our coffers too. Progression would see us increase our revenue and ensure that we will get into “easier” groups for future editions. Due to Conte’s high wages, this exit will increase the pressure on him. The positive to come out of this exit is that we can now focus on preparing to play in Serie A once a week. Conte is at his best if given the time to work on tactics. Only winning the Scudetto would appease the Inter fans now. He has no excuses now if he fails to deliver. He has got the signings he wants and now the time.

Lukaku, Statistics Padding?

The spotlight would also be on Romelu Lukaku. He has been fantastic since he joined but the nagging suspicion that he is padding his statistics refuses to go away. Once again, in a big match, we missed our big player. The opponents were paying special attention to him but the best ones always get a way around it. He needs to improve that if he is to be taken seriously as one of the world’s best striker.