MILAN - We could tell you about the latest record that Mauro Icardi has broken. No one before him in Inter club history had scored in their first three home Champions League matches. And it would have also been the perfect night for him as he made his 200th appearance in all competitions. But that’s not the way it went. Tottenham Hotspur drew in Barcelona to move into the knockout stage. It’s the Europa League for us.
It was a strange game last night against PSV. Asamoah’s mistake allowed Lozano to open the scoring early on and forced us to chase the game. We needed to bounce back and the team immediately turned to Matteo Politano. The winger shook things up with five dribbles, three shots, 71 touches and an assist for Maurito’s leveller. Milan Skriniar also produced a standout performance. He was a brick wall, as ever, winning seven out of ten challenges, making three clearances and completing 95% of his passes.
While we’ve already spoken about the captain (we should add – four shots, 29 completed passes out 34, four dangerous plays and three crosses), the team, in general, had the edge over PSV with 65% ball possession, 52.6% of challenges won, 52.8% in the air and almost twice as many completed passes (628 vs. 351). Those numbers weren’t enough to score a second goal which would have sent us through, which is why we finish third in the group and head into the Europa League.
Now we must find strength in this disappointment because there’s still an awfully long way to go this season and there is still plenty to play for. It’s time to bounce straight back. There’s no time to waste. Forza Inter!
