A total disaster. Inter and Napoli fail to do their duty against Psv and Liverpool and thus greet the Champions League: their European future, at least in the immediate term, will only be the Europa League. Huge regret for both but with some significant differences. If Napoli's exit finds an explanation in the opponent's objective superiority, the same cannot be said for Inter's, stopped by an already eliminated PSV and without even the excuse of the "cookie" between Barça and Tottenham: at the Camp Nou, in fact, ended 1-1 which means that a win at the San Siro would have been enough to go through.
Under accusation, needless to say, Luciano Spalletti and his choices, once again very questionable. Inter showed few ideas and a lot of fear right from the start but above all, once they grabbed the draw (with great difficulty), they chose to manage the 1-1 draw, in the extremely risky hope that Tottenham would not be able to reach Barça, momentarily leading 1-0. A suicidal tactic, certified by the substitution of Politano (as in Turin!) with Vrsaljko, and very costly: a few minutes after the offending substitution, in fact, the news of Lucas' goal arrived from Barcelona and so the draw, as a passepartout for the round of XNUMX, became a sentence to the Europa League.
The Nerazzurri, who had already gone down in the 13th minute with a goal from Lozano (very serious mistake by Asamoah) and got back into the running with the usual Icardi in the 73rd minute, then attempted a confused final forcing but hopes were extinguished on Lautaro's header Martinez, finished high despite the excellent position. Perhaps, trying to win with more conviction, it would have gone differently, instead it ended up with a flop that Spalletti will have a hard time digesting.
“It's a huge bitterness, the disappointment is so much – admitted the coach at the press conference – We weren't able to maintain the right tranquillity, we let ourselves be carried away by the tensions and moods of the public. We leave with the same points as Tottenham but we had to do better in this match."
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There are also many regrets at Napoli, where they have to deal with another elimination in the group stage, the second in a row. However, this one, compared to last year, hurts much more because the Azzurri were unbeaten until yesterday evening, so much so that they were able to show up at Anfield with two results out of three. In reality, even a defeat with a goal would have allowed them to pass the round but Ancelotti's team, this time, failed to find him.
The idea of playing for a 0-0 draw, if there ever was, foundered in the 34th minute when Salah, in the evening of grace, slipped the ball under Ospina's legs. From then on, Napoli played knowing they could also concede another goal, provided however that they scored at least one: a second half ensued with many chances left to the Reds, but also with two sensational ones to change history. The first was missed by Callejon while the second, gigantic, fell on Milik's feet in the 92nd minute but was thwarted by an amazing Alisson, in perfect Rome style.
“I'm very sorry but we have to accept it – Ancelotti's bitter analysis – We were not so lucid in the offensive phase but the regrets certainly don't concern this match, I think we just lacked a pinch of good luck. Now we will bring this bitterness to the Europa League, with the conviction that we can do well."
This will therefore be the fate of Inter and Napoli, who went from the European gotha to the minor tournament in one night. A bad blow, which could lead to a reaction but also leave an indelible mark for the rest of the championship.
