Legendary former AC Milan manager Fabio Capello believes that Inter’s win over Sheriff Tiraspol yesterday evening was a complete team effort in which every player played a part.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia after the match, the former coach lauded the team for their compactness and work ethic across all positions though he also suggested that captain Samir Handanovic could have kept Sheriff’s second half equalizer out.
Inter needed a win against Sheriff in order to gain a foothold in their group, and they did with an impressive performance, good value for their 3-1 scoreline.
The attack looked strong as the team piled on the chances, but the attackers also involved themselves heavily in defensive efforts, most notably in cases where Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez made important defensive interventions in their own box.
In all, it was a display where every player was involved in every phase of the game, and Capello appreciated this aspect of it.
“Inter have prepared a gameplan to be ready to cover the opposition counterattacks,” he said, “in an action Dzeko wins the ball off a Sheriff’s attacker. The team was there and deserved to win.”
“On the Sheriff’s goal, however, Handanovic could do something more,” the former Rossoneri coach continued.
“The Inter players all feel very involved,” Capello stated, “the forwards tracked back several times. Inter never suffered, they were always perfectly placed and played in another way – tonight they were prepared to attack, rightly because they had to win. Dzeko and Lautaro at one point made two defensive runs back, this shows that the team is compact.”
