Simone Inzaghi reveals what he told Inter at half-time when a goal down to Barcelona and why this 3-3 draw ‘could’ve been a victory’ to secure Champions League qualification.
It was truly a battle at Camp Nou, as the Nerazzurri went behind to an Ousmane Dembele tap-in, turned it around through Nicolò Barella and Lautaro Martinez.
Robert Lewandowski equalised, Robin Gosens made it 3-2 at the 89th minute, but Lewandowski struck again in stoppages for 3-3.
It was Inter who had the chances to win it at the death, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen making crucial saves one-on-one with Kristjan Asllani and Gosens.
“I congratulated the lads, we played a great game against a quality opponent,” Inzaghi told Amazon Prime Italia.
“We created many scoring opportunities, suffered together when defending, and could’ve secured our place in the knockouts with two games to spare, but hope to give our fans that joy against Viktoria Plzen.”
This result means Inter have a superior head-to-head record with Barcelona, having won 1-0 at San Siro, and will be in the Round of 16 if they beat Viktoria Plzen.
“We must have courage and never stop playing. We created many chances to score, conceding just before half-time, but I told the lads during the break to stay calm, because I knew we’d create our opportunities.”
Although Inter would’ve been more than happy with a point, Inzaghi kept pushing his players to go forward and try to win the match.
“This draw could’ve been a victory, we now have this chance to reach the Round of 16, getting through the most difficult group in the tournament.
“I have been here for 15 months and the fans have always been right by our side. However, before Plzen, we need to focus on Salernitana and Fiorentina.”
Today I was an Inter fan. I wish they had closed out at 3-2, but now Barcelona is out looking in.