Italian journalist Mario Sconcerti believes that Inter coach Simone Inzaghi had tried to win the match against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday through his substitutions late in the game.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster TMW Radio, Sconcerti gave the view that the Nerazzurri boss had seemed to hope that the opponents would grow tired and that by bringing on players with pace he could exploit them at the back and find the victory late on.
Inter got off to slow starts against the likes of Hellas Verona and Fiorentina in the Serie A clashes with those sides, but in both instances they grew into the game and took control as the opponents began to tire in the second half.
Against Shakhtar, the Nerazzurri looked to take a measured approach to begin with, but as the match moved forward Inzaghi threw on players with pace such as Joaquin Correa and Ivan Perisic.
In the end, the Nerazzurri were not able to get on the scoresheet, even with the changes that Inzaghi made.
“It seemed clear to me,” Sconcerti said, “Inzaghi had come up with a plan according to which he had to win the game in the last twenty minutes. He wanted to tire out the opposition players. Put out a fast and well organized team, with the final changes he thought he could win but he didn’t succeed.”
He went on, “The strange fact is that a team that scores many in the league, in Europe, can’t find any goals. Now htey have to beat Sheriff twice to progress, it’s a really strange time.”
