Inter must still make significant progress before they are able to seriously compete in the Champions League, Italian media have argued.
This from today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who suggested that yesterday evening’s defeat against Real Madrid demonstrated how far away the Nerazzurri still are from making the necessary next step.
The newspaper commend the Nerazzurri for playing a courageous and ambitious game from the first whistle, pushing for an early goal and looking to impose their preferred pace on the Merengues at the Bernabeu.
However, in the end it was moments of naivete which saw Inter fail their objective of taking three points to go top of their group ahead of Real.
The Spanish side were clinical with their opportunities and defended stoutly, while Inter failed to score even a single goal for their efforts.
The Nerazzurri were wasteful with their chances and with the dangerous situations that they created, something which the Gazzetta argue is not the case with Europe’s elite.
In the end, Nicolo Barella’s sending off in the second half made for one final note of bitterness, with the 24-year-old potentially out for both of the team’s round of sixteen matches.
The mental lapse shown by Barella was only one more example of a moment in which Inter showed how far they still have to go before they can really look at home in Champions League matches against the top sides on the continent.
