Credit to the players and Conte for their efforts tonight. By the end of the game they were tired but managed the game relatively well until the final whistle. At last, they are showing some much needed grit and determination to hang in there and see games out.
I’ll start by talking about individual performances. Our first half performance is the kind of Inter most of us have been waiting to see. We were dominant and most times we went forward, we threatened Leverkusen. I thought Young’s link up play with Lukaku was great to watch. Their understanding with each other is obvious and I liked how they kept pushing and probing in the sense that they found a weakness and tried to exploit it.
Defensively, I thought we gave little away in the first half. The goal we conceded was sloppy. They often say that a team is most vulnerable after scoring a goal. And that has proved the case with us in numerous games this season, especially in Serie A. Perhaps this will change as the team matures but we have to learn to score and somehow keep playing as if it is 0-0 or as if we are not leading.
Special mention to Bastoni who was again solid and Godin who is playing with more confidence. There were a few times when he put in crucial tackles when Leverkusen were on the attack and had us under pressure. I am grateful for those interventions and feel that he is presently managing and playing better than Skriniar. Also, De Vrij is absolutely rock solid. He quietly goes about his job and you hardly know he is there but when he is called into action, he is so confident and composed in the way he plays. In the second half, Leverkusen had more opportunities as the game went on and we looked more tired but I feel that was to expected.
I feel Martinez did not have his best game but his runs and crosses from the byline gave Leverkusen a lot of trouble. On almost each occasion that he got to the byline, he squared the ball and almost always found a teammate or managed to send Leverkusen’s defenders scrambling. In saying that, there was an opportunity when he could have crossed for Lukaku but instead took a shot that went hopelessly wide. At the moment, I still feel that he is playing for himself more than the team and his diving is ridiculous. He goes down at a mere touch and its embarrassing. I wish someone could talk to him about taking the soft dives out of his game as the referees are clearly on to it and rarely blow fouls against him unless they are blatant.
I love Brozovic but at the same time, he also makes me angry. I cannot fault his work rate but there were a few occasions when we were pressing and had Leverkusen on the ropes on the edge of their box and Brozovic popped up and either made a shit pass at a crucial time or slightly delayed making a pass and we lost the attacking opportunity that had arisen. In those kind of moments, I find myself wishing that we had a player in his position that was capable of playing with more intelligence in the sense of seeing an opportunity and pressing the advantage rather than turning over the ball to our opponents.
Lukaku was monstrous. The way he used his body to beat his opponent and kept playing right until the final whistle was commendable. He took a lot of kicks but still endeavoured to do his best for the team. As for his goal, it was not pretty but it epitomises his effort and the reason he was brought to the club. In a way, I feel sorry for his direct opponent who was only 21 years old and outclassed to the extent that all he could do was foul Lukaku.
Eriksen definitely offers us something different. As soon as he came on, we started passing through the middle and there were a lot of short passes on the edge of Leverkusen’s box. Having said that, his teammates definitely have to work harder when he was on the pitch. Towards the end of the second half, there was an occasion when he was chasing an opponent back into our half and was right there next to him but refused to put a challenge in. It is frustrating and I can understand why Conte does not play him from the start because his teammates have to work that bit harder to cover him being on the pitch.
In relation to Conte, I feel he selected the right starting eleven and introduced our substitutions at the right time. I can not fault him and very much hope that he will be here comes next season. It would be a complete waste of this season and the progress we have made to have to start all over again with another coach for season 2020-2021.
A few last notes: It is interesting to read some the posts in this thread: some posters were surprised by the fact that we were able to string two passes together whilst others are in disbelief that we are in the semi-final of a European competition. I fall into the latter category. I love seeing how it is coming together for the players and that they are being rewarded for their efforts by booking a semi-final in the Europa League. This is new for us, at least in recent times. Also, it helps that the team is away from Italy where the coach and players are always under the microscope and subjected to endless amounts of rumour and speculation that undermine their every effort. Being based in Germany allows the players to focus on the task at hand and bond as a team as there is precious little else for them to do.
I think the Europa League this season is there for the taking in what has been a crazy season. I acknowledge that we still have to take a few more steps and that there is still a lot of football to play but it would kind of be funny if Pazza Inter were to prevail in a European cup competition in what has been an absolutely crazy season due to Coivid-19. For those of you that are superstitious, apologies for my last sentence. But, there's no harm in dreaming.
I was bit disappointed that we did not see Sensi, even if it was just for a little while. Having said that, I doubt that Conte would play Eriksen and Sensi at the same time and I am guessing that Conte is possibly worried about his fitness in terms of introducing him to play in a quarter-final after he has been out for most of the season. In any event, given how little he has played perhaps my expectations were too high where he is concerned.
I am not sure if anyone saw the post match comments from Conte. But he genuinely looked happy and and was proud of his players and the way their game has developed. He complimented the players on how they have now reached stage where they can do some things without thinking and how it has almost become automatic. My favourite part of the interview is when they asked him what he is going to do with a five day break which for us and this latter half of the season is very much a luxury.
Does anyone know I f there is any news regarding Alexis' thigh injury? I am hoping that it is not serious and that we will have him back for the next round. I was a little disappointed that in his first game as an Inter pplayer, he managed to get injured.
Lastly, I just want to say that I love you guys and look forward to seeing our boys in the Europa League semi-final.
FORZA INTER!