Luciano Spalletti Admits Inter Were 'Timid' After Nerazzurri Miss Penalty in Goalless Frankfurt Draw
Inter manager Luciano Spalletti has admitted that his team lacked any fluency in their Europa League clash against Frankfurt, conceding that they lost drive and impetus in the second half.
The Nerazzurri laboured to a goalless draw against their German opposition, but could easily have come away with a narrow victory after they were awarded a first half penalty.
Marcelo Brozovic missed the spot-kick, however, with some confusion evident on the pitch around who the designated taker was meant to be. Spalletti revealed after the game, though, that he was happy for the Croat to take the penalty - and overall, he was pleased with the result even if the performance wasn't what he'd hoped for.
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“Inter played with authority and character, especially at the start, as that was the most difficult period of the game," Spalletti said, as quoted by Football Italia.
“We have to consider the performance more than the result, because in these two-legged affairs, the result only means something after both games have been played.”
“I believe he can take penalties, just like Ivan Perisic and Matteo Politano. These are players who are very good from the spot, then of course anyone can make mistakes. He wanted to take it and that’s fine with me.
“In the first half, we made the right choices after recovering the ball, but after the break we let them pile on to us, hesitated in our decisions and were too timid. We started just passing it around with no real intent and lost too many physical battles.
“Some players can give more in certain situations, but it was a great game.”
Spalletti refused to be drawn on whether Mauro Icardi would be brought back into the fold, instead opting to take a jibe at what the media chooses to report.
“I have to focus on the players at my disposal," he added. "There were several missing in midfield today, but when it suits you (in the media), you don’t care about that.
“It’ll be important to have Keita back from injury, as for the rest, I am not the person to ask. Ivan Perisic has a muscular issue, but it shouldn’t be serious, he stopped before it could get worse.”
