Henrikh Mkhitaryan outlines how Inter readjusted their midfield following the Hakan Calhanoglu injury and what his role could be if it proves to be serious.
The game against Roma started on completely the wrong foot for the Nerazzurri last night, as Calhanoglu limped off with a muscular issue in the opening minutes, followed swiftly by Francesco Acerbi.
Nonetheless, they managed to snatch the 1-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico with a Lautaro Martinez strike on the counter from a Roma corner.
Mkhitaryan versatility key to Inter
“The important thing was to win. We all help each other out on the pitch and try to do our best to win the games,” Mkhitaryan told DAZN.
They had already made the trip without Piotr Zielinski and Kristjan Asllani, meaning once Davide Frattesi came on, the only remaining midfielder on the bench was teenage youth product Thomas Berenbruch.
“The coach has to decide where I should play, it doesn’t matter if I play as a playmaker or a mezz’ala. It was not easy to make those changes 15 minutes into the game, we had to reorganise and Barella moved to playmaker, while Frattesi didn’t have much time to warm up.
“Nonetheless, we did really well in midfield. If we are without Calhanoglu for the next games, we will miss him, but find a way to cover.”
The Nerazzurri have a packed fixture list coming up, as from now until November 6 they will face Young Boys, Juventus, Empoli, Venezia and Arsenal.
Considering the injuries are piling up, it could make things a little tricky for those who have to carry the team.
“It is sad that we lost two important players today, but I hope it is nothing serious. We are obviously prepared for the games that are coming up and already did it last season with a run of victories against Atalanta, Juve, Roma and Lazio,” concluded Mkhitaryan.