Inzaghi complimentary about Feyenoord’s Champions League battle plan against Inter | OneFootball

Last night De Kuip bore witness to another fine evening of Champions League viewing. Although Feyenoord were eventually beaten 2-0 by the visiting Italian champions Inter, Robin van Persie’s hosts picked up some kind words from Nerazzurri boss Simone Inzaghi ahead of the second decisive tie.

Making his Champions League dugout debut, Van Persie set up his Rotterdam side with a structure that proved difficult to break down. However, with fine goals either side of the interval from Marcus Thuram and Inter’s record marksman in European competition, Lautaro Martinez, the hosts were eventually put to the sword.

Speaking with the Italian press after the match, the Inter boss was highly complimentary of both the atmosphere and his opponent manager’s tactics.

“My team did incredibly well. It was not an easy match in this stadium. Although we are in a good position, there are always hidden dangers, so we will have to be vigilant for this Feyenoord next week as well.

“Feyenoord have a strong team. They managed to surprise us by playing with four attackers, with Igor Paixão as an advanced midfielder behind them.

“We didn’t really know what to expect after Van Persie only led his first match for Feyenoord last Saturday. They played in a completely different formation and system than against AC Milan. Nevertheless, those matches helped us in preparing for this match.”

In addition to his praise, Inzaghi was careful not to underestimate the return leg on Tuesday at San Siro, citing previous the club’s previous exploits at the Etihad earlier in the European campaign.

“We won the first match, but we’re not there yet. We mustn’t forget that Feyenoord managed to score three goals at Manchester City.”

Ahead of Tuesday night’s second-leg clash, Inter will play Monza at home on Saturday. Feyenoord have no games between now and the midweek battle under the lights.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield