Cristian Chivu lost his voice, so his assistant Aleksandar Kolarov explained that Inter are trying to be “more aggressive” this season, following their 3-1 comeback win away at Bologna. However, that approach has not produced the same results in Europe.
The nerazzurri once again made life difficult for themselves, falling behind in Serie A. At the Dall’Ara stadium it was Tommaso Pobega who put the rossoblù ahead, but Inter responded by finding an equaliser through Marcus Thuram right before half-time. After the break, the substitutions proved decisive: Carlos Augusto and Ange-Yoan Bonny completed the comeback, handing the Milan side a 3-1 victory.
Chivu, left without a voice on the touchline, delegated 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 do not want to use that as an excuse, though: Bologna played a very good first half. We struggled to win second balls and they were more aggressive, but the lads believed in themselves and in the second half we dominated.”
Carlos Augusto, who scored one goal and provided one assist after coming off the bench, was named Serie A Man of the Match.
“Carlos Augusto never gets a training session wrong, he is very important for us and I am happy for him. We did not 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, which came on Tuesday evening. The nerazzurri remain on zero points after their first two matches of the competition, having also lost 2-1 away against Real Madrid. For this reason, the next fixture 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 the attacking phase and when we win the ball back,” Kolarov continued.
“It is true that we are encountering some difficulties, but we are aware of our abilities and we have time to recover the points we have lost. We are trying to be more aggressive in Europe compared to last season.”
Inter had been eliminated prematurely from the Champions League last year, in the play-offs against Bodø/Glimt, after reaching two finals within 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 is not something that can be taken for granted: we have to impose the rhythm of the game starting from the defenders.”