Bergomi: Inter's Weaknesses Are Exposed More in Europe; Diouf's Performance Deserves Praise

On September 9 Beijing time, after Inter Milan suffered a 1-2 away defeat to Real Madrid in the opening round of the UEFA Champions League league phase, Nerazzurri legend Bergomi gave his assessment of the match.

"In European competitions, you either play with a 3-5-2 formation like Inter do — accepting the extremely high risks involved — or you simply do not use this system. Inter's style of football is both pleasing to watch and courageous, but it also comes with high risks. Inter must maintain possession, because once they lose the ball, they cannot build attacks from the back, and this possession-based approach itself can easily lead to mistakes," Bergomi said.

"If you leave spaces for Real Madrid, they will make you pay. That is the key factor that decides the outcome of the match. In addition, factors such as the hot weather, individual mistakes and the team's character also had an impact. Inter have both strengths and weaknesses, and on the European stage, those weaknesses are further magnified."

"In principle, Real Madrid paid a certain price due to a lack of available players and their substitutions, but in the first half, Inter successfully used Diouf's ability to shift the direction of attacks. I must especially praise his performance. If he can continue to develop like this, Inter will finally have a player capable of beating opponents one-on-one, and he was excellent. Carlos Augusto also delivered two crosses. Inter tried to stick to their style of play, but they could have done better in terms of possession and finishing. However, in European competitions, when facing teams that are good at counterattacks, Inter often find themselves in difficult situations."