During the last decade or so, Calcio fans have become well-accustomed to bidding their clubs farewell from the early stages of the Champions League. So while none was too surprised to see two Serie A representatives leaving the competition from the group stage, the optimistic section of the supporters was still hoping to see an Italian club go far in the continent’s elite competition.
Nevertheless, Inter fell short in the first leg of their round of 16 meeting against Liverpool, thus extending Italy’s abysmal streak in European football.
However, the Nerazzurri’s shortcoming was far from being a straight-forward defeat as some were expecting. In fact, the Italian champions outplayed the Reds for large parts of the encounter and had the better chances.
Even though Simone Inzaghi started with a lone local player (Alessandro Bastoni), the Beneamata had the Scudetto crest tagged on their shoulders, and looked every bit of a true Italian team.
Inter managed to absorb Liverpool’s early onslaught, looked solid at the back, threatened with counter attacks and displayed the infamous Italian grinta. Nevertheless, Lady Luck wasn’t on their side when the woodwork opted to deny Hakan Calhanoglu’s smashing effort.
At the end of the day, Jurgen Klopp adjusted his side’s weak points with an array of game-changing substitutes, and the English giants punished the Serie A winners for their wasted opportunities by scoring twice in final 15 minutes.
Following a decade-long absence from the round of 16, few actually thought that Inter can go too far in their European adventure – especially after getting pit against the boys from Merseyside. And yet, the Nerazzurri’s display suggested otherwise.
For the vast majority of the meeting, the Italian champions had us believe in their ability to pull off the major upset… only for Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah to bring the Calcio hemisphere back to planet earth.
The tale witnessed at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on Wednesday is a perfect summary of an entire decade filled with disappointments for Italian clubs.
In the big picture, Serie A side have completed failed to put their mark on European football since 2010, with Inter being the last Italian club to lift a European trophy.
However, we must not forget that there were some instances when a peninsula representative almost brought Calcio back on top of the Old Continent. The 2015 and 2017 Champions League Finals are the most obvious examples, with Juventus taking part on both occasions, while Roma’s memorable run in 2018 deserves a mention.
And yet, all of these tales started with a bit of hope, but eventually faced the same tragic fate, reminiscently to Inter, as their European campaign is now hanging on a tiny thread.
So for how long will the Serie A fans have to endure the sight of their favorite clubs being unceremoniously thrashed out of Europe? And if Italian clubs are able to go toe-to-toe with the biggest sharks on the continent, then why does the final result always favor the opponent?
Inter could – and perhaps should – have come out with a significantly better result. After all, Inzaghi set up his team perfectly for the big match, and it’s hard to fault the players who applied the plan to perfection – or at least almost to perfection.
So perhaps Inter should rue their luck, their lack of experience, their few but costly mistakes on both ends, or simply resign to the fact that they faced a more formidable opponent who knows no mercy.
But in all cases, this encounter will wind up as the latest chapter of Italian football’s seemingly never-ending woes on the European stage.