Inter suffer club-record fourth straight Champions League defeat as Chivu admits form is 'worrying'

Inter Milan have lost four consecutive Champions League matches for the first time in their history after a 4-3 home defeat to Club Brugge at San Siro on matchday two of the 2026-27 campaign.

Cristian Chivu, the Inter coach, did not shy away from the gravity of the situation, admitting after the “frenetic” clash that the team’s European form is “worrying”.

Frenetic clash at San Siro

Inter never led at any point against the Belgian side. Nicolo Tresoldi struck a first-half penalty to open the scoring for Club Brugge, only for Lautaro Martinez to cancel it out with his first goal of the night. Tresoldi, however, completed a hat-trick to put the visitors in a commanding position. Martinez pulled one back for Inter, but Romeo Vermant netted Brugge’s fourth to effectively seal the result, even after Ange-Yoan Bonny’s stoppage-time consolation.

Chivu's verdict

“It was a good first half from both teams, with intensity, but we conceded a goal on a counter-attack from our own corner where we could’ve been more organised,” Chivu told Sky Sport Italia. “We managed to equalise before the break and had started the second half well too; we had two big chances to score that we didn’t take, so a little frustration set in. We got frenetic, lost our balance and then from the 2-1 it all went wrong.”

He added: “We didn’t have the cool heads to maintain the gameplan. Club Brugge also deserve praise for their technical quality, intensity and determination, which caused us real problems.”

“I can’t say it’s not worrying; obviously, we have things we need to re-evaluate,” Chivu said. “It’s especially difficult to get it back on track in the Champions League because of the quality of the opposition, but we’ve got to focus on our balance, the duels, the second balls, keeping the shape.”

A historical low

The defeat extends a miserable run for the Nerazzurri in Europe’s premier club competition. Having lost home and away to Bodo/Glimt in last season’s (2025-26) knockout-stage play-offs, Inter have now lost four in a row in the Champions League or European Cup for the first time. They have also lost seven of their last eight games in the competition overall (W1).

The slump is a stark contrast to recent seasons. Inter reached the Champions League final as recently as 2024-25, where they were beaten 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain, and Chivu had urged his side before this fixture — in coverage dated 2026-10-13 — that “money can’t buy you the Champions League” following an opening 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid on matchday one.

What's next

Two straight losses to begin the 2026-27 campaign leave Inter 28th in the standings, outside the play-off places. Chivu acknowledged the need for urgent improvement.

“We are well aware of what isn’t working in the Champions League and will try to change our mental preparation,” he added. “I must be the first to take responsibility, because perhaps I cannot find the right balance going into certain types of games.”

He continued: “We must also keep the faith, because there are another six to go. It’s true these two defeats hurt our Champions League expectations, especially with the way we ended last season in this competition. There is a lot of work to be done tactically, where I am responsible, but also mentally we need to find the right balance to approach these matches.”