Inter of the reserves falls but does not look bad: Bayern wins 2-0

With the qualification in one pocket and the head to the Superclassico with Juve, Inter took two from Bayern, exactly as in the first match of this group. But between one challenge against the Bavarians and the next there is a world: in the middle a surprising rise that guaranteed the Nerazzurri the second round, at the beginning almost unthinkable. This time no one witnessed the same massacre in September: partly because nothing was really up for grabs and partly because Inzaghi’s team has a very different awareness than in September. Now, however, everyone is hoping that the ballot box of the second round will be more forgiving than that of a year ago so as to be able to try to reap the fruits of what was sown in this group.

FIRST HALF

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At the Allianz Simone Inzaghi has, however, given proof of trust to the many who have struggled so far: the German Gosens, who would play at home here in Germany but who on the left was overtaken by Dimarco; Asllani, who was still in the crazy night of the Camp Nou and that missed 3-4 that would have allowed Inter to dream of first place tonight; Bellanova, hitherto mysterious object of the right wing; without forgetting the evergreen Gagliardini fished out in the gala evening. With a Dzeko not at his best, then the green light from the beginning to the Argentine couple Lautaro-Correa, while in defense the most interesting “zagata” is Darmian as right-hand scorer, together with De Vrij and Acerbi. Nagelsmann also pushes himself in the rotations, partly because of the absences and partly because he dominated the group without even struggling too much: there is still a fantasy trio Coman-Gravenberch-Mané behind Choupo-Moting of the highest level. Yet, despite everything, especially at the beginning of the crossing in Bavaria, Inter plays with the right degree of impudence, indeed it goes a couple of times close to an advantage that it would also deserve. Lautaro, with the captain’s armband on his arm, devours the net from two meters slipping too early on Gosens’ grazing cross, while Barella confirms that his foot is very warm in this period: first he engages the goalkeeper Ulreich from a distance and then, on the next corner kick, he tries again on the fly finding a clear hand from Mané in the area: despite a long Var review, curiously no penalty.

THE GOAL

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And it is from that moment that Bayern, however a distant relative of the tank seen at San Siro, climbed into the dribble and played more steadily on the edge of the Nerazzurri area, taking advantage of the difficulties on the flanks of Gosens and Bellanova. There are no special occasions in front of a very attentive Onana, but the 1-0 Bavarian goal arrives inexorable. It comes only from a marking error on a corner kick: strangely Lautaro faces the deadlift of Pavard, not really Skriniar when it comes to defense. The Argentine makes the second serious mistake of the match and, on the Frenchman’s head, the Cameroonian goalkeeper can do nothing.

THE SHOOT

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In the second half Inter are unable to raise the pressure as at the dawn of the match, yet they would also have equalized with a header from Acerbi on Asllani’s free-kick: it’s not really the evening because the defender is offside. To try to climb the current with difficulty, but also to let some of his players catch their breath in a Juve perspective, Inzaghi ventures a triple change after a quarter of an hour of the restart: out Lautaro (off, as well as warned), Gagliardini and Barella, inside Mkhitaryan, Dzeko and Calhanoglu. It is a trio that knows German football from having sailed the seas of the Bundesliga, but the quality shot does not arrive, even if the Bosnian worries the Germans here and there. Indeed Bayern are often on the point of adding a piece to the score and, in the end, the 2-0 finds him with an impregnable right from Choupo-Moting. At this point, it is not only the entry of other terrible young people of the Bavarian family, such as the 19-year-old Musiala and the two 17-year-olds Tel and Wanner, that gives spice to the match, but also the choice of Inzaghi to make his best talent debut in the Champions League, Valentin Carboni, also born in 2005. Looking to the future, Inter know they have a small treasure in Appiano, but better not to look too far: first there is Juve and an eighth to play as much as possible.