Simone Inzaghi protected Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella after the sending off at Santiago Bernabeu and the Nerazzurri can focus on a positive growth in Europe, even if the two defeats to Real Madrid left a scar.
The Nerazzurri are through to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in 10 years and Simone Inzaghi has already done what his predecessors Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte didn’t manage.
Inter were already through ahead of the 2-0 defeat to Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid on Tuesday but were playing for the top spot in the group and an advantageous draw in the last 16.
But it wasn’t to be, as Inter’s poor record in the Spanish capital continued, despite another positive performance against one of the European giants.
Champions League | Real Madrid 2-0 Inter: Barella sees red at the Bernabeu
Inter have come a long way and Inzaghi continue to build on the great performances from Conte’s stint at the club.
The former coach brought Inter to the Europa League Final in his first season, before claiming the Scudetto in his second term.
The next step was to advance in Europe and Inzaghi has delivered, and a naïve gesture committed by Italy international Barella pushed the game out of reach at 0-1 in Spain.
But the coach didn’t want to punish the young midfielder in public and stressed Barella has learned from his mistake and underlined how the former Cagliari man apologised to the staff and his teammates.
The two defeats to Real Madrid means Inter will face one of the other group winners in the next round and a win in the Spanish capital could have provided a confident boost for the Nerazzurri in view of the knockout stages and more important appointments.
But Inzaghi’s men were fully participating in the game until the sending off and proved they have the capacity to compete with the best. The experience, if not only for Barella, could still be valuable for the Beneamata who will prepare for at least two more European nights next year.
What a generous title. Football Italia Bias at it’s best
As much as the red card by Barella was unnecessary. So was the subs of Gagli and Vecino when you have Sensi o the bench. The terrible subs and awful tactics that follow are unbelievable. Inzaghi also needs to shop around for a Sanchez replacement. He bring nothing to the table. Finally the fact that Sanchez is awful and he did add Satriano to the CL roster is mind blowing but Gagli made the roster.
This lack of discipline doesn’t look well for Italy fans but hopefully he gets this out of his system and learns from it.