Inter jeered off the field
Ranieri’s side suffer their fifth defeat in six winless games
ROME:
Inter Milan were jeered off the pitch by their own fans at the San Siro on Friday after their latest humiliation, a 3-0 defeat to lowly Bologna.
This defeat, their fifth in six winless games and also the fifth time in that period they’ve failed to score, came hot on the heels of a home defeat to rock-bottom Novara.
Over those six games Inter have conceded 15 goals, scoring just four times.
This run, which included a Cup defeat to Napoli, has badly hit their Champions League chances, leaving them down in sixth and six points behind third-placed Lazio, who have played a game less.
To make matters worse they were also leap-frogged by Napoli, who won 3-0 at Fiorentina.
Veteran Marco Di Vaio scored a first half brace within 60 seconds and Robert Acquafresca added insult to injury late on.
But what really cost them, particularly in view of under-fire coach Claudio Ranieri’s pre-match assertion that they must stop conceding goals, was how catastrophic their defending was.
“We’re not playing to our potential and we’re going through a particular moment, we must take responsibility,” said Ranieri.
“I apologise to the president and to the fans. Whilst it was 2-0 we tried, we pushed but everything fell apart with the third.
“There’s bitterness, this is the third (defeat in a row). In several games the first chance they get, they score.
“In one minute they scored twice. We must grit our teeth, like I said yesterday, we’re playing with 10kg on our backs. We expected a tough game but not like this.”
Edinson Cavani was the two-goal hero while Ezequiel Lavezzi added the injury-time cherry on the cake to give Napoli the perfect preparation for their Champions League clash against Chelsea on Tuesday.
“Having seen this game, this is the right path and the right attitude that we must have against Chelsea,” said Cavani.
“It will be tough but we’re in good shape. Nothing is sure in football and that’s why we don’t have an advantage, anything can happen.
“What matters is playing with the same attitude as we had tonight.” — AFP