Amid an evident crisis caused by injuries affecting Inter in recent days, coach Simone Inzaghi is preparing for a double-header with the league match against Monza in between in the Champions League against Feyenoord: tomorrow at 18:45 is the first leg match in the Netherlands.
As analyzed this morning by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter possesses one key strength in its European campaign, placing it in a somewhat privileged position among the teams in the Champions League round of 16 bracket: its defence. Indeed, the Nerazzurri’s defence has been by far the best in this European campaign.
Throughout the eight group stage games of the Champions League, Inter’s defence conceded only one goal, scored by Bayer Leverkusen in the closing moments of their match. A goal, as Inzaghi frequently points out, that came from a corner kick that should not have been awarded to the German side coached by Xabi Alonso.
Inter is the team that has conceded the fewest goals—second place in the Champions League is Arsenal with 3 goals allowed—and also has the highest number of clean sheets 7. Additionally, Inter ranks second for the lowest number of shots on target conceded 22, behind only Arsenal at 19. Therefore, Inzaghi can rely on this tough Nerazzurri defensive wall in European competitions to dream of going as far as possible.
