Italy and Juventus icon Alessandro Del Piero has pinpointed Inter’s “greatest disappointment” stemming from their eventual defeat on penalties against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.
The six-time Serie A champion served as a touchline correspondent for CBS’s U.S. broadcast of the Champions League on Wednesday night, joining regular analysts Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards, along with host Kate Abdo.
Del Piero observed that Inter took too long to “find their rhythm” against Atletico, suggesting that Simone Inzaghi’s squad didn’t hit their stride until the latter stages of extra time.
He also noted that Inter’s offensive approach seemed limited to counterattacks and felt they could have been more effective in maintaining possession throughout the match.
“The only regret that Inter can have tonight is they started to play football a little bit late, they started to play football in the second extra-time.”
“They can do better during the game because they had possession, but the only opportunity that they had was on the counter-attack, so when they have the ball, Inter can do much better.”
After extra time, Inter and Atletico were deadlocked at 2-2 on aggregate, but Inter was ultimately ousted as Alexis Sanchez, Davy Klaassen, and Lautaro Martinez missed their penalty kicks.
“On the penalty shoot-out, you know, sometimes it’s luck, sometimes you prepare yourself better, sometimes your goalkeeper makes incredible saves, sometimes defence can give you some help,” Del Piero concluded.
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Inter performance and stats
Inter
Inter is currently 2nd in the Champions League with 12 points.
In the last 7 games, it has won 4 times and drawn 3 times. In its last match, Inter won 1-0 against Atlético Madrid.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 8 goals and conceding 5.
