Inter played Barcelona away from home at the Camp Nou which started off looking like Inter were going to push Barcelona against the wall and truly take the game to them rather than sit back like everyone thought they did. Despite the game plan, Barcelona was able to dictate the pace of the game after the unsustainable approach of Inter.
Inter lined up in the formation that basically granted them entrance to the Champions League against Lazio last season. The problem with this formation is that Spalletti lined up D’Ambrosio and Candreva on one side, with that being said, they weren’t playing against Lazio’s left side, they were playing against Jordi Alba and Coutinho.
Spalletti opted to play Candreva and D’Ambrosio on the right hand side which probably meant that he felt the need to protect the back and go with the safest most viable option considering he really wanted to take the game to Barcelona. This would have meant that D’Ambrosio wouldn’t have gotten exposed so much. In regards to realistic game plan the viable options would have been Vrsaljko and Politano who would have been able to explode into Barcelona’s half in a very midfield reliant game from both teams.
Vrsaljko would have been able to provide more assistance in the front and he would have also been the better choice in regard to the level of experience not only in the Champions league but with Barcelona as well. In regards to Politano, through out the whole season Spalletti has trusted Politano with all his tasks but for some reason today he felt like he couldn’t handle the pressure and elected Candreva to start. Politano would have been able to provide the attacking support not only in regards to distributing the ball supply into the box, but also being an inverted winger meaning he’s able to cut and shoot more fluently or cut and change the side to Perisic.
Lastly, the key number ten role that Inter relies so heavily on, unfortunately Borja Valero isn’t able to cover as much ground and make the proper decisions in comparison to Nainggolan. This led to a gapping hole in the middle of the field which instantly cuts off the supply to Icardi. He was second on almost every ball, and it’s not because he’s incapable but because Barcelona is such a quick team. Nainggolan would have been an absolute luxury.
In conclusion, Spalletti went in with the right approach to try and take it to Barcelona but unfortunately it wasn’t sustainable for 90 minutes and he went with the supposed “safer” option rather than putting it all on the line like his game plane initially suggested.
