Henrikh Mkhitaryan admitted that Inter must become more ruthless in front of goal after their Supercoppa Italiana campaign ended with a penalty shootout defeat to Bologna.
The Armenian midfielder was the first Inter player to speak after the match, addressing Sport Mediaset moments after elimination in Riyadh.
His focus was firmly on the 90 minutes rather than the lottery of penalties. “We have to talk about the match itself,” Mkhitaryan said, with quotes via FCInterNews.
“We should have closed it out earlier.” He acknowledged that once the game went to spot-kicks, the dynamic changed. “Penalties are a different story. We couldn’t find the breakthrough like we did against Atletico Madrid. We’re sorry about it.”
Mkhitaryan stressed that the issue is not a lack of chances, but how Inter manage them. “We always create a lot of opportunities,” he explained.
“We need to work on finishing games earlier.” The comment reflects a recurring theme in Inter’s season, where control and chances have not always translated into decisive margins.
Mkhitaryan: ‘That’s Football’ As Inter Milan Exit Supercoppa With Defeat To Bologna
Asked whether the club risks becoming obsessed with missing out on trophies, Mkhitaryan dismissed the idea and urged perspective.
“That’s football. It’s not 11 against zero,” he said. “Bologna deserved to be here after winning the Coppa Italia, and we weren’t able to win. There are no excuses. We put our heads down and work.”
The sense of disappointment was evident, but so too was determination. “It hurts, there’s a lot of disappointment,” Mkhitaryan admitted when asked how the team responds to the setback.
“But we’re aware of what we need to do. We’ll work harder to reach our objectives.”
For Inter, the Supercoppa exit is an early blow in a long season.
Mkhitaryan’s words, however, pointed less towards frustration and more towards responsibility, with a clear message: improvement must come through sharper execution, not complaints, as the Nerazzurri look to turn control into results in the months ahead.
Just retire or leave the club. Why are players like Miki starting in 2025? Inter is a failed club. And yes he haven’t created anything in the last 2 -3 years so why is he starting? Marotta is a clown and it’s time for him to leave the club as well.
This fukn guy can’t get the ball in the net for his life ffs.
Big talk from a player who hasn’t scored or played a killer pass for about 2 years! Inter need to put their trust in players like Diouf to take over, and need players over the age of 36 to have the decency to retire or leave the club!!
You’re taking it out on a guy who was not involved in the penalty that led to the game being tied and did not even participate in the penalty shootout, meaning that he did not miss any of the three penalties.
Penalties aside, he is impotent in attack for season and a half already. Finishing is horrible, even assists are lacking much, 1 in that not much challenging match in cup, defensive play tonight was also subpar.
Yeah, I get that. However, Inter does not rely on Mkhitaryan for goals or assist. Something like 14 players are on the scoresheet this season. He does his defensive duties immaculately and outruns everyone even at 36. I’m not saying he’s essential and should be a starter no matter what. All I’m saying is that Inglese Ultra is taking his frustration out on the wrong player. Scapegoating the older guys is the easy way out. These guys will leave at the end of the season and I can guarantee that the mentality issue will still be present. Who will be to blame then?
I’m not referring to the SuperCoppa as such- I’m not really bothered about the SuperCoppa- but more in general….
I’ve said in earlier threads that Mhiki should be 5th or 6th option in the midfield, to share his knowledge to younger players and to enter last 15-20 mins to close the game that should’ve been solved by then and an occasion game as starter to rest some of the players. Not to use him as Inzaghi did, almost every game. Generally our midfield isn’t doing very well this season and that contributes much to Mhiki’s playing time. Diouf should play on right side, Frattesi is completely useless when he enters, Sucic has the guts to dribble and go in attack but still need to improve defensively. Hakan beside his shot doesn’t contribute much, he does go often to our cbs to collect the ball, but his crosses aren’t like they used to be and too many lost balls in the middle of the pitch. Over the years Barella was probably one of our most consistent players, even he had to enter bad form at some point. Zielinski gave positive impressions in my opinion, best games since he came to us, but still not that level from his time in Napoli, hardly he’ll ever get back there considering he’s already 31.
And this “Your comment is awaiting moderation” nonsense needs to fuuucking stop.
Since the season started, I was saying the same thing.