Having spoken to various media outlets, Inter manager Luciano Spalletti then held the traditional post-match press conference after Inter’s goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
How do you value the team’s performance tonight?
“In the first half, we managed to handle whatever was thrown at us, at the right time. I’m talking about the spaces created from they attacking us and putting pressure on us. In the second half we were not as good in moving the ball around, even when facing simple decisions. Their pressing caused us to commit a lot of errors in the physical duels.”
Could Icardi play in the second leg? How have you seen him in these last couple of days?
“I haven’t seen him. Then, regarding the press release, it was correct. We asked Mauro if he felt like starting over, the doctor said that he thought he was recovered. Icardi replied: “No, I’m still injured, I will tell you when I’m at 100% again”. I got the message and went home, as for the rest you’ll hear it from Marotta.”
Brozovic missed a penalty, was that decided before the game?
“Since he was the guy that went for the football, he said that he was ready to take it. There is a hierarchy when we practice and there are 2-3 players that know how to take a penalty and it’s a good thing to have 2-3 players to chose from. The players that maybe have missed 1 out of 4-5 penalties have less pressure than a player that still has to break the ice. I’m sure of that when Mauro started he also felt the pressure that these players are currently under. Politano is excellent from 11 meters, as is Perisic, Lautaro and Brozovic. There is also Nainggolan who is good at taking penalties, but he has missed.”
Is the result bitter after a game like this? Considering a penalty was missed…
“Eintracht is one of those teams that aspire to go as far as possible. I think they are amongst 5-6 teams that can move ahead. The result is always evaluated after what happens in the second leg, it is a in-or-out game for whoever watches. Today we had the opportunity to score, both in the first and the second half.”
A lot of injuries and now Perisic…
“He will for sure recover, he has a great muscle mass that can recover quickly. We are only talking about some fatigue.. Then of course, looking at the Europa list, we do not have many players to chose from and we also have a couple of players that are now suspended. That is why we need to be a bit lucky and manage to play with a certain amount of players, but for sure, since there is not much time left, some players need to be lifted out of the squad in order to avoid any complications. Let’s hope that players like Keita soon can recover.”