Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi will be spending the international break plotting how to stop Erling Haaland in the Nerazzurri’s marquee Champions League match against Manchester City.
This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.
Inter’s Champions League campaign will be beginning with a bang this season.
The Nerazzurri travel to the Etihad to face Premier League juggernauts Manchester City in their first European match of the season.
On paper, that is the toughest match that Inter will have to play in the “league phase.”
There would be the risk of setting the wrong tone for the rest of the Champions League season if Inter are badly beaten away to arguably the continent’s strongest side.
But on the other hand, a result for the Nerazzurri would send a massive message.
Inzaghi Plotting Anti Haaland Strategy For Inter Trip To Man City
Inzaghi has the luxury of the international break to consider how he’ll approach the match with City.
The coach will have plenty of time to sit and think about his tactics.
And there will also be time on the training ground, with many players not on international duty during the break.
Of course, stopping a team as formidable as Manchester City is not as simple as keeping one player quiet.
But the blazing start to the season that former Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg striker Haaland has enjoyed showed how threatening the Norwegian can be.
The good news for Inter is that they’ve been here before.
The Nerazzurri faced City and Haaland in the final of the 2022-23 Champions League.
Inter may have lost that match 1-0. But they did an impressive job of restricting City’s attack.
The Cityzens managed just seven shots during what turned out to be a fairly cagey match. Four were on target.
And Haaland got just one shot away all match.
Defender Francesco Acerbi played a big part in that. The veteran defender’s man-marking job on Haaland was extremely effective.
But the help that Acerbi received from his teammates, and Alessandro Bastoni in particular, was also crucial.
Therefore, Inzaghi will be looking to repeat the trick this time around as well.
