Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi feels that Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani were far from the only ones to blame for the Nerazzurri’s subpar performance against Real Sociedad in the Champions League.
Speaking in a press conference after the 1-1 draw, as reported by FCInterNews, the coach defended his players.
Inzaghi made a few changes to his team for this evening’s match away to La Real.
Two of the most eye-catching inclusions in the starting eleven were striker Arnautovic and midfielder Asllani.
The pair were each making their first starts of the season.
And in truth, neither really looked up to par against a very bright La Real team.
Both Arnautovic and Asllani made way with just a few minutes gone during the second half.
But in the view of the duo’s coach, it would be unfair to brand them as the only culprits in a performance that was far, far below the standard that Inter had set with their matches in Serie A so far this season.
Inter Coach Inzaghi Defends Arnautovic & Asllani Despite Poor Performances Vs Real Sociedad
“You can’t stop at two or three players,” Inzaghi said analyzing the team’s performance.
“Everyone had to do more, myself included.”
“And the you always have to give credit to your opponent. Real Sociedad proved to be an extremely worthy adversary.”
“Then La Real dropped off a little, and we got up the pitch,” Inzaghi noted. “I had a feeling then that we’d be able to score.”
“We did well to hold on and stay in a match against a team with top quality,” the coach continued.
“We knew what we were up against, and we prepared well in the past few days,” he went on.
Inzaghi noted that “We conceded an avoidable goal.”
“And then we managed to stay in the game, thanks in part to our excellent goalkeeper.”
“And then I had the feeling that we could’ve even gone on to win it, despite the fact that they played better than us,” Inzaghi said.
“In football sometimes you just have to congratulate the other side,” the coach went on.
“They’re an organized and intense team. And they have three or four absolutely top level players.”