The Spaniards hit the woodwork twice and Sommer saves a couple of goals. Red to Barella removed by Var
– san sebastian
Of all the ways to restart in the Champions League, after the proud final in Istanbul, this is the most unexpected and almost the worst possible: Inter, runners-up of Europe, take a point from San Sebastian, unexpected given how they were the Basque bullfight has started, but in terms of performance it takes three steps backwards, both compared to that magical night at the beginning of June and compared to the practically perfect first four rounds of the championship. The Nerazzurri spent at least 75 minutes on the dentist’s table, mistreated by a Real Sociedad team equipped with competitive spirit and great technique. The five players changed compared to the derby end up only creating confusion, but about fifteen minutes are enough for a draw that saves the Champions League group.
SHOCK START
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Now that the agenda is starting to get tight, Simone Inzaghi decides to rotate a large part of the company in a scientific way, something that served him to loosen up especially at the end of last season. This time, however, no one expected such a bold turnover, at least at the beginning: unexpected, for example, the bench reserved for the very fast Thuram with the consequent use of Arnautovic for the first time as a starter, while it is confirmed with respect to the tests on the eve of the choice of Asllani in the role of director in place of the injured Calha. For the rest, the changes since the start of Pavard in the right wing role and Carlos Augusto on the left wing are intriguing. Also considering De Vrij, there are five changes compared to last Saturday’s derby catwalk. One might say too many, at least looking at Inter’s shock start, the result of an attitude certainly not up to par with the European vice-champion team. Real Sociedad, driven by Anoeta who already from the initial choreography prods everyone about the pride of the “Basque nation”, literally has blood in their eyes. It’s an atavistic hunger for the Champions League that has been missing here in San Sebastian for 10 years and so in the first few minutes the Nerazzurri truly went through the walls of hell. Everyone fears the Japanese Kubo on the right wing, but it is on the left that Barrenetxea gives toothache to the unfortunate Dumfries and, with the Dutchman, to Inzaghi’s entire defence. In the first 4′ there was a dangerous cross and a thundering post from the Basque winger. Then, by pressing as if there was no tomorrow, Real’s inevitable goal arrives. In reality, it is an unsolicited gift from Bastoni, who is too sure of his left foot as he persists with the ball in a dangerous area. He gets it picked up by the midfielder of Alguacil’s team, Mendez, who can’t make a mistake face to face with Sommer. We saw better approaches to the match.
WHAT A PAIN
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Even when the storm of the first ten minutes passes, Inter are unable to be themselves, at least as seen so far at home. The ball moves very slowly, with banal errors, starting from Arnautovic. That’s not enough, Asllani seems really lost, not ready, in that position of enormous responsibility: he doesn’t guarantee the reliability of the Turkish starter in managing the ball, on the contrary he gets anxious and even ends up getting yellow with a useless intervention. The card affects his entire game and, around the Albanian, the team has a gigantic effort to line up two passes: the attackers can’t hold half of them, Barella is the shadow of the real Nicolò and all the troubles always come from the same side, the right one where Dumfries never gets the license plate at Barrenetxea. A cross from Oyarzabal is also added to the bill: even if offside, it serves to give the idea of the massacre. So, when the referee blows the whistle for the end of the first half, we can calmly say that the best thing for Inter in the first 45 minutes is the score. It could have ended much worse.
second half
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Everyone would expect a change of direction from the bench, with at least a couple of substitutions, but at the beginning of the second half Inzaghi strangely insists on the same disastrous eleven: it turns out to be an act of sadism because Real are drumming in the same way and there is no a wake-up call in his team, which in fact risks succumbing again. Sommer makes the best save since he wore the Nerazzurri, an instinctive shot on the goal line following a close-range header from Oyarzabal. At that point Simone also realizes that the limit is full and the team needs new blood: in the 8th minute he changes three, Frattesi and Thuram on for the disastrous Asllani and Arnautovic (Micki takes control), while Dimarco takes the place of Sticks to make the maneuver flow with a minimum of more fluidity. Barella, nervous throughout the match, sees an unjustified red card waved for a reaction on Mendez on the ground (who in reality isn’t there) and VAR is needed to remove the card and keep him on the pitch.
the equal
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After another Basque cross with a header from Merino, comes the fourth substitution which smacks of desperation: the Armenian out and Sanchez in, with the formation changing shape and becoming a bold 3-4-1-2. These are the first minutes of the Chilean’s second Inter life, but Alexis proves to be a burst of unpredictability in a gasping team. A 1-1 score by Thuram ended up being canceled out due to an offside by Carlos Augusto, but the unexpected joy for the Nerazzurri came three minutes into the 90th minute: a missed shot by Frattesi became an assist for Lautaro, who made no mistake. At that point, suddenly, the wind changes on Anoeta: there is no longer any trace of Garibaldi’s Real Madrid on the pitch, indeed the San Sebastian team is forced to grit its teeth and suffer for the first time. Victory would have been too much, but why not start immediately with this spirit?
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