Cristian Chivu lost his voice, so his assistant Aleksandar Kolarov explained that Inter is trying to be “more aggressive” this season, after the 3-1 comeback win at Bologna. However, this approach has not produced the same results in Europe.
The nerazzurri made life difficult for themselves once again, falling behind in Serie A. At the Dall’Ara stadium, Tommaso Pobega put the rossoblù ahead, but Inter reacted and equalized with Marcus Thuram just before half-time. In the second half, the substitutions proved decisive: Carlos Augusto and Ange-Yoan Bonny completed the comeback, giving the Milan side a 3-1 victory.
Chivu, who had no voice on the sidelines, left the media interviews to his assistant Kolarov.
“Our approach today was not that negative, but Bologna had fresher legs than us,” Kolarov told DAZN Italia. “We don’t want to use that as an excuse, though: Bologna played a great first half. We struggled to win second balls and they were more aggressive, but the boys believed in themselves and in the second half we dominated.”
Carlos Augusto, who scored a goal and provided an assist after coming off the bench, was named Serie A Man of the Match.
“Carlos Augusto never makes a mistake in training, he is very important for us and I am happy for him. We didn’t need this award to know how much he is worth.”
The victory represents a breath of fresh air for Inter, still shaken by the surprising 4-3 home defeat against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The nerazzurri remain on zero points after the first two matches of the competition, having also lost 2-1 away against Real Madrid. For this reason, the next match against Shakhtar Donetsk, scheduled for Wednesday at San Siro, becomes crucial.
“In the Champions League you need an extra gear, so we want to be more aggressive both in attack and when we win the ball back,” Kolarov continued.
“It’s true that we are facing some difficulties, but we are aware of our abilities and we have time to recover the points lost. We are trying to be more aggressive in Europe compared to last season.”
Inter had been eliminated early from the Champions League last year, in the play-offs against Bodø/Glimt, after reaching two finals in three years.
“We have nothing to prove to anyone, except to ourselves. We want to be more intense, both with and without the ball. In the second half today, in Madrid and in the first 50 minutes against Club Brugge we were intense with the ball at our feet.
“It’s not something that can be taken for granted: we must impose the rhythm of the game starting from the defenders.”