“We Finished Second In The Group Last Season And Reached The Final”
Written By Onyeka Daniel
Inter needed a win against Real Socieded at home in their final group stage game, but could only manage a draw against the Spanish side, meaning that they finish second in the group and will most likely get a tough opponent in the next round.
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According to French forward, Marcus Thuram, he admitted that Inter were slightly disappointed not to beat Real Sociedad in Champions League, but overall the team are happy with their progression to the knock-out rounds.
The Nerazzurri played out a 0-0 draw at San Siro against the eventual group winners, having already guaranteed their qualification in the previous round of fixtures. Real Sociedad absolutely dominated possession, especially in the first half, though the best scoring opportunities were for the Nerazzurri.
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Still, finishing second has an impact on Inter’s potential opponents in the Round of 16, as they will now have to face a Group winner, meaning they could be drawn against the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or reigning champions Manchester City.
“We knew it was going to be like a final in our group, we wanted to win but we are happy to be in the round of 16,” Thuram told Sky Sport News in his post match interview. “We played a decent match against a very good team, they are all tough matches in the Champions League.”
The Frenchman was asked if there were any opponents he would like to avoid in the next round of the competition, but it is currently too soon to tell, he said. “Everything is complicated, soon we will know who we will play against.”
There is no rest for the Nerazzurri, who return to Serie A action at the weekend with a trip to Rome to face Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico. Inter and Juventus are currently locked in an enthralling back-and-forth race for the Serie A title. “Yes, all focus is on Sunday’s game,” he further stated.
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As for Inter manager, Simone Inzaghi, he insists that he does not ‘want to see sad faces’ after the draw and he also took time to explain his squad rotation. “We knew that second place would make for a tougher draw, but I don’t want to see sad faces, I only want to see smiles as we finished the group unbeaten, we are in the Round of 16 for the third year running. We are very satisfied,” Inzaghi said after the game.
“We wanted another win in front of our fans, we didn’t manage it tonight, but we tried until the 95th minute. We were up against a quality opponent and Inter had the best scoring opportunities. “Real Sociedad are a great side, we only allowed them a bit of possession in the first 25 minutes and never risked anything then either.
“The pity is that we didn’t convert the chances, but we finish unbeaten and are second only on goal difference.” There will be questions over why Inzaghi waited until the 65th minute to introduce Lautaro Martinez, and even then it was for Marcus Thuram, leaving him with Marko Arnautovic as a strike partner.
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“We are in December, we need to reach June with Lautaro, Barella and others in one piece. They also had international duty, so were never really given the opportunity to rest and they needed it. In my view, that was a priority. I am very satisfied with what the team did and we must continue in this direction.”
Was Inzaghi also suitably impressed with the performances of Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic? “Yes, they are giving us a hand. It’s normal that they are not at 100 per cent when not playing as often, but they will improve as time goes on.”
There was drama elsewhere in this group, as Benfica won 3-1 away to RB Salzburg deep into stoppages and snatched third place for a Europa League play-off. “We’ll see what the draw has to say. We finished second in the group last season and reached the Final, after all.” He concluded.
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