Cristian Chivu collected a 1-1 draw against Mexican side Monterrey in his debut as Inter’s coach, and Italian media highlight five things learned from the Nerazzurri’s first game in the 2025 Club World Cup.
Lautaro Martinez replied to Sergio Ramos to give Inter a 1-1 draw against Monterrey in their 2025 Club World Cup debut on Tuesday.
It was Chivu’s first game in charge for the Nerazzurri, and Gazzetta highlighted what worked well and what the Nerazzurri must improve under their new coach.
Exhausted
The players are far from their best shape, as Chivu said in his post-match press conference.
Zonal marking
Chivu used zonal marking on defensive set pieces, even if the coach had requested man-marking solely for Sergio Ramos. The team’s high press, especially in the second half, exposed an exhausted Inter defence to Monterrey’s counter-attacks.
Attack
Lautaro Martinez and Sebastiano Esposito started the game, but Marcus Thuram replaced the Italian in the second half. Inter are expected to sign at least one new striker following the departures of Joaquin Correa and Marko Arnautovic, and the Monterrey match confirmed that attacking reinforcements are indeed much-needed.
New signings
Luis Henrique brought a touch of unpredictability, showing ability in one-on-one and a proactive attitude. It was a better debut than that of Petar Sucic, who was also involved in the second half, but struggled in a three-man midfield, a substantial tactical change from the two-man midfield system to which he’s more accustomed.
Tactical change
Inter started with a three-man defence, but switched to a four-defender system for the final 30 minutes. Henrikh Mkhitaryan played as an attacking midfielder for a few minutes, behind Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, before Lautaro dropped down to join Nicola Zalewski to support the sole striker Thuram.
FIVE things 😂
Lorenzo, you are brilliant. Not one thing. Not three things. Not six things. But 🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐 things 😂
Chivu making excuses. Why are the players “exhausted”? It’s been weeks since they last played. Monterrey had Inter in their heels for entire stretches of the game. What are we doing? Mkhitaryan and Acerbi are too old, we got exposed defensively throughout the game, and Chivu appeared clueless to change anything.
Rosario looks absolutely desperate to make a point why Milan in not in the competition, nor they are going to play in Champion League, Try harder!