After a late-season slump that shattered their treble hopes and has left them wondering where the next victory will come from, Inter Milan are at risk of coming away from the Champions League semi-finals.
Inter, who have lost three games in a row without scoring a goal, could not have anticipated the daunting matchup with Barcelona on Wednesday.
With only four matches left, Napoli held a three-point lead over Napoli in Serie A, and Inter was eliminated from the Italian Cup following their disappointing 3-0 derby defeat at AC Milan last week.
The team led by Simone Inzaghi appears to be stale and without any fresh ideas. Roma lost 1-0 at home on Sunday in front of a soporific San Siro crowd, which was even more incongruent with the upbeat atmosphere that accompanied their thrilling victory over Bayern Munich two weeks prior.
On Sunday, Inzaghi said, “We deserved more and created circumstances where we failed to get anything, primarily because we lacked sharpness.”
“We need to find that from within ourselves, but a positive outcome might have given us more energy.” Both mentally and physically, we must recharge our batteries.
During Claudio Ranieri’s disastrous time on the Nerazzurri bench, Inter last lost three games in a row without scoring.
Roma last defeated Inter in October 2022. In the final of that season’s competition in Istanbul, Inter defeated Barcelona 1-0 three days later, narrowly falling to Manchester City.
15 years ago, when Barca defeated Inter in the semi-finals, the eventual treble winners almost lost to Roma under the direction of Ranieri before triumphing in the championship match.
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Not afraid to ask?
Inter will also have one day less rest after their match against Roma was moved back to Sunday, so that it won’t clash with Pope Francis’ funeral, giving France defender Benjamin Pavard less time to recover from an ankle sprain that he picked up over the weekend.
Real Madrid and Barca both won the Cope del Rey on Saturday, but Barca are now on a high following their former foe’s petulant meltdown as they prepare to suffer a third consecutive defeat at the Clasico.
The best way to be in April and still have something to play for, wing-back Carlos Augusto said on Sunday. “We’re not scared, we’re not scared.
“We have a chance to achieve something extraordinary, and we don’t have any fears.” This team is always focused and has already accomplished great things.
Since Lautaro Martinez has looked worn and frustrated, Inzaghi will be hoping that Marcus Thuram will be available because his replacements have failed to do so.
With goals that first secured Inter’s position in the top eight of the league, Captain Martinez’s team advanced to the semi-finals before dragging his team to the final four.
Since the start of the year, the 27-year-old has scored seven goals in five Champions League games, accounting for half of his total goals.
He scored both goals against Bayern and away from home, and he excelled against the Bundesliga champions-in-waiting two weeks ago, when Inter appeared to be leading the charge in the world.
Inter are now working to salvage something from a season that appeared to be a dream but quickly turns into a nightmare.
Source: Channels TV
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