Icardi debacle weighs heavy on Inter before crunch Milan derby

ROME: Mauro Icardi’s (pic) ongoing contract dispute with Inter Milan shows no sign of abating as the Italian team crashed out of the Europa League in his absence before this weekend’s key derby showdown against city rivals AC Milan at the San Siro.

Both sides are battling for Champions League football next season with Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan in third, one point ahead of Inter, who occupy the final elite European qualifying spot.

Icardi’s dramatic injury-time winner snatched a 1-0 win for Inter in the reverse fixture last October.

But the Argentine – joint top scorer in Serie A last season with 29 goals – has not played since Feb 9 amid a contract dispute which resulted in him being stripped of the captain’s armband.

The 26-year-old, who has scored 15 goals for the club this season, has complained of a knee injury but the club say a scan has not revealed any new injury.

In his absence Inter have won two of four league games, and crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday 1-0 on aggregate to visitors Eintracht Frankfurt.

Champions League qualification is now Inter’s only objective, as they are 25 points behind leaders Juventus.

“We came up short in all areas,” said coach Luciano Spalletti.

“We certainly need to do better than we did tonight (against Milan),” he added.

“We need more confidence. We’ll look back over this match and recognise we didn’t read it the right way.”

They face a tough battle against on fire AC Milan, inspired by new Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek, who have won five league games on the trot.

Piatek has scored eight goals in nine games since joining Milan from Genoa last January as Gattuso’s side are on track for the Champions League for the first time since 2014. — AFP