Bodo-Inter, Champions League round of 16 too important for the Nerazzurri: here’s why

They say that about 30 km south of Bodo there is the most powerful marine vortex in the world, last night almost without realizing it even Chivu was swept away by his “Saltstraumen”: he may not have been hit by 400 million cubic meters of water, but in those three impetuous minutes of a Scandinavian legend the Romanian has experienced unknown nightmares so far this season. The coach has a slight advantage in the championship, but in Europe no one thought of such a rapid exit risk: being eliminated in the playoffs would be an unexpected and serious flop because it may well be true that the championship is the declared objective of the season, but it is equally true that Oaktree considers qualification to the round of 16 the indispensable minimum: it is not only a matter of prestige for those who have come close to the cup twice in the last three years, but above all those eleven million for the passage of the round which would be oxygen for the Nerazzurri budget. In short, this 3-1 risks causing a heavy, black cloud to swirl throughout the season: to sweep it away immediately and without consequences, one of the magical nights of San Siro will be needed, a stadium at the end of its days but which in the past has given rise to heroic deeds. Luckily, the Milanese grass is not as synthetic as the indigestible one in Norway: “Bodo always manages to do something more on this pitch, where other teams are not used to. It’s not an excuse, but it’s been like this for many teams before us. But everything is still open, let’s not forget that” said Chivu at the end. Having lost Lautaro for who knows how long complicates the recovery even more, but it’s useless to talk to Chivu about Nico Paz and the +7 over Milan in the league because the Romanian coach, at the moment, only has this Scandinavian storm in his head: “I’m interested in talking about the Champions League, right now it’s not relevant to talk about anything else…”.

ouch, zielinski

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Between 61′ and 64′ Inter made qualification extremely difficult and the explanation lies in the dizzying counterattacks of the yellow players who here skate at double the speed. As far as possible, Chivu tried to give a more rounded explanation: “The team still tried, they had a good attitude for 90 minutes. We paid the price in transitions in which they are very dangerous. I can’t blame my team much. Now we have to take stock because we have some problems after this match. There are some players who are a little bruised and we will evaluate them carefully: it’s not just Lautaro, others have problems too.” Specifically, Chivu’s reference is to Piotr Zielinski, who also came out battered. Ultimately, this was precisely the great fear of the Nerazzurri who arrived in the North: leaving their feathers on a ground that seems stretched like a Subbuteo carpet. Faced with such a heavy snowfall, it is better to think about the hot Salento and move on, to the possible comeback with the push of San Siro: “Let’s focus on Lecce because it will be difficult and then we need to play a very careful and quality match on the return home, more malice is needed than that shown this time and, above all, more attention to their counterattacks”.