Former Lazio, Juventus, and West Ham United striker Paolo Di Canio feels that Inter were unduly criticized for their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Liverpool.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, Di Canio contrasted the reaction to the Nerazzurri’s elimination from the Champions League to the praise which Roma have drawn for advancing to the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
Inter were handed virtually the toughest draw that they could have been for the Champions League round of sixteen in the form of Liverpool, who had won the competition in 2019 and are among the favourites this season.
The Reds are in the hunt for the Premier League and the FA Cup trophies this season as well as being in the Champions League semi-finals, and are widely regarded as one of the most formidable teams in Europe.
In spite of this, the Nerazzurri did not look over-awed, playing well in the first leg despite a 2-0 loss and then handing the Premier League side their first home loss in over a year in the second leg by winning 1-0 at Anfield.
Inter went out with their heads held high from Europe’s top competition, and Di Canio feels that this was a better indicator of the ability of Italian teams to compete on the continent than the Giallorossi’s exploits.
“We can’t be satisfied with this nonsense,” he said. “We always talk about being at the top level, Bayern, City, and then we get excited about beating Bodo/Glimt.”
“We criticized Inter who played on par with Liverpool,” he went on. “Liverpool who may well go on to win the Champions League.”
“And here we were discussing the details of Inzaghi’s decisions for Inter against Liverpool in the Champions League, and now we are excited about the victory of Roma against Bodo/Glimt,” he stressed.
