Chivu explains big Inter changes for Como: ‘First time like this’
Cristian Chivu explains his surprising Inter tactical changes for the Coppa Italia semi-final with Como. ‘It’s the first time we played like this, we’ve got to make do with what we have.’
The Nerazzurri are flying high in Serie A with a 10-point lead at the top of the table, but seem to be struggling more with cup competitions.
They crashed out of the Champions League, losing both home and away to Bodo/Glimt, and struggled to create any chances in today’s 0-0 Coppa Italia semi-final draw away to Como.
It all therefore goes down to the second leg at San Siro, which will be on April 21 or 22.
Chivu transformed Inter against Como
“I had a few problems to deal with, we were forced into some changes. It’s the first time I played with a pair of creative midfielders supporting the striker,” confessed Chivu to Sport Mediaset.
“We also changed our way of defending, especially in our own half, we tried to attack them man for man, but were a bit slow with our wing-back closing on their left-back. There were two Como strikers who were not strikers, dropping a bit deeper, and causing problems for us.
“They are so good at keeping the ball, passing it around and drawing you out to then attack the space. We did well to understand what we needed to do, and were fortunate in a couple of situations.
“Considering we didn’t have much time to prepare, playing after 72 hours, the lads did well to understand the instructions quickly and give their best, knowing that at times we had to accept Como’s possession play.”
With Lautaro Martinez and Ange-Yoan Bonny out of action, and Marcus Thuram not fully fit, Chivu opted for a system with Andy Diouf in a more advanced role to support Francesco Pio Esposito.
There was more squad rotation ahead of this Sunday’s Serie A clash with rivals Milan, which on top of the Derby della Madonnina is also a Scudetto showdown.
“We had two strikers available today, so we decided to share the playing time between them,” explained Chivu.
“We’ve got to make do with what we have, and the lads did well to recognise the difficulty of this match. They had the right approach, even if it wasn’t a real Inter type of game, and not admittedly very entertaining to watch either.”
Could this type of approach be replicated in the Derby against Milan in Serie A on Sunday, or will Inter go back to their usual 3-5-2?
“Both teams tonight were sitting back a bit to wait and see, because Como dropped Vojvoda down for a five-man defence at times, so it wasn’t entertaining because both teams struggled to find the right spaces,” added Chivu.
“They tried to attack our lines and we read those moves well to block them off. It was the first time we tried to build with two playmakers, and had two creative midfielders like Diouf and Frattesi behind the striker. That changes a lot.
“We’ve got four days before the derby, we’ll see who is available, and then decide what to do for that match.”
With former teammates Christian Panucci and Andrea Ranocchia in the studio, Chivu joked that they were being too kind.
“I think I prefer it when they insult me, I got so used to criticism lately,” smiled the Romanian.