Chivu takes blame for Brugge collapse and sets Lautaro Martinez return timeline
Chivu takes responsibility for 4-3 Champions League loss
Inter coach Cristian Chivu took responsibility for Tuesday’s 4-3 home defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League and insisted it “would be too easy to abandon the press” after the collapse.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Serie A trip to Bologna, Chivu said the Nerazzurri had two days to recover from the European setback and had trained well on Friday. He confirmed an issue was discovered with Lautaro Martinez after the Brugge match.
“It’s a different competition from the Champions League, and we’re playing four days later,” Chivu said via FCInternews. “The team had two days to recover, and we had a good training session together today. We discovered an issue with Lautaro after the match. He will be unavailable.”
Lautaro Martinez out for circa one month
Lautaro Martinez scored a brace against Club Brugge but picked up an injury in the game. Chivu said the striker will miss around a month, including the Milan derby later this month, and will return after the November international break.
“I’m not a doctor. I’ve been told that this is the recovery time. We are talking about him returning after the break,” Chivu said. “We simply need to do what we’ve always done, both with and without Lautaro. Everyone has to demonstrate leadership and help us pursue greater ambitions.”
On whether Ange-Yoan Bonny will get more chances in Lautaro’s absence, Chivu replied: “He impressed me at the beginning of this season. He’s always shown his quality when he has come on. We have a great striker at our disposal. We know his worth, and his moment to start will come. In the meantime, we are extremely happy with what he contributes in the closing stages of games. We’re happy with what he’s doing.”
Pressing and organisation
Chivu accepted the defensive issues that have seen Inter concede eight goals in six Serie A matches and six more in two Champions League games.
“It has to begin with me. I’m the one primarily responsible,” Chivu replied. “We need to develop a shared mindset and take responsibility. This is a group of fantastic players; we just need to find unity and reconnect with the different moments of a match without allowing adversity to bring us down.”
He added: “We accept our responsibilities. Something didn’t work in the final 30 minutes against Brugge, but we mustn’t lose sight of what we did well in the first hour, up until we went 2–1 ahead. We created a lot and entered the second half with the right attitude, producing two major chances. Then everything collapsed after the second goal. We have to analyse it as two matches within one.”
On organisation, Chivu said: “I take responsibility for the team’s organisation. I must give the players greater certainty. I can’t control much once they’re on the pitch, but I can be more incisive in explaining how things should be done. We have to improve the details, but we shouldn’t discard everything we did on Tuesday. When we maintained the right distances, we forced our opponents to give us the ball.”
“The problem arose when we pressed incorrectly, and from that perspective, I take responsibility. At the same time, I want to preserve the enthusiasm and desire to push forward and win the ball back. It would be easier to abandon the press, but we need to improve our cohesion and communication on the pitch.”
Goalkeepers
Josep Martinez has faced criticism following the loss, and Chivu did not rule out Ivan Provedel.
“Provedel has my respect and trust. I consider him a goalkeeper who will help us significantly,” the Inter coach concluded.