Inter Milan’s derby frustrations deepened as they fell 1-0 to AC Milan at San Siro, undone once again by a mix of wasted chances, a brilliant Mike Maignan performance and a fatal counter-attack as Cristian Chivu defends his decision to take Lautaro Martinez off.
After the match, Chivu faced the cameras with a blend of irritation and resolve, insisting his team had produced a strong display even if the outcome was bitterly familiar.
Chivu admitted the opening 45 minutes summed up the night: dominance without reward.
“It wasn’t only what we created, it was the performance and the attention,” he said, with quotes via FCInterNews, noting that Inter had largely prevented Milan from countering.
The coach lamented that “the only time we went long, we lost the ball and conceded,” calling it a harsh example of how fine the margins were.
Still, he praised his team’s attitude: “The boys tried until the end despite the disappointment. This is the spirit I always want to see.”
Pressed on the numbers, four goals conceded on the counter from 11 shots against, Chivu refused to blame goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
“I don’t make those kinds of analyses,” he insisted.
“I’ll never point fingers. They’re always the best for me. We could have managed moments better, but we’re all in this together.”
Inter 0-1 Milan – Chivu Defends Lautaro Martinez Substitution
Improving the team’s defensive transitions remains a priority, but Chivu stressed the structural risk in Inter’s attacking style.
“With our characteristics we have to attack with many players,” he said.
He added that the team must “perceive danger better, win more duels and even take a few more yellow cards to stop counters.”
The biggest talking point came when he substituted Lautaro Martinez on 64 minutes, a decision that immediately stirred debate.
Chivu brushed off the controversy with a sharp edge: “Can I not change players?” he replied.
“He’s fine. It was my choice. Everyone on the bench has contributed this season.”
With the table still compact, Chivu stressed that the only response now is to regroup quickly ahead of Wednesday’s crucial fixture against Atletico.
it’s not the end of the world though 4 lost games there is still the chance for the scudetto. As usual played an excellent match in my opinion and we lost. need more defensive attention and need to leave some initiative to opponents so they we could counter attack. exactly how Milan got their goal . it’s a pity I blamed Sommer in the first place but on second thoughts it’s not fair as the ball was lost in the central part of them pitch so it was a collective loss. hope take it up Wednesday. Forza Inter Sempre.
Chivu needs to fix defensive problem at Inter. We have only one reliable CB – Bastoni. Acerbi is old and slow, Akanji is not consistent, Bisseck needs more experience, and De Vrij has already passed his best. We have to bring fresh talent in our defense in January in order to compete for any trophies. Also, we need to find Sommer’s replacement!!!
I like the way we played is just that we lost
martinez was sluggish all game. he had to come off.
I actually can’t count the number of times players like Lautaro, Barella, Hakan, Frattesi and Thuram bailed out Inzaghi. No need to over complicate things goals can be conceded penalties can be missed but there’s no world where you win a match or even get a draw if at least half of those players are on the pitch. That’s just reality and until Inter get better players it’ll remain to be the case or maybe a change of formation.
The issue is not that you made a change. The issue is that it weakened us, i.e. Bonny did nothing helpful.
all yall criticizing Chivu replacing Lautaro are moron. Lautaro was obviously drained out and could no longer contribute. yall were praising Bony few days ago now that we lost the derby he ain’t shit! yall are pain in the @$$. Bravo mister Chivu and forza inter….