Following a dismal 3-1 defeat to Sparta Prague on Thursday, Inter manager Frank de Boer has heavily criticised his players by beginning the Europa League match with “the wrong attitude”.
The 2010 Champions League winners have lost their first two group matches in the Europa League to Hapoel Be’ersheva and the Czech outfit.
The former Ajax boss questioned the mentality of the Italian side when speaking after the match to “?Sky Sp”?ort Italia, saying: “If you start with the wrong attitude, you can talk about tactics all you like, but the first thing is to have the right mentality.
“On the second goal we gifted an incredible opportunity. It’s not possible to concede a goal like that. In the second half we did slightly better, but certainly not playing the way I want to see Inter play. After the red card it all became more difficult and the 3-1 sealed it.
“We gave the ball away too many times and must improve a great deal in that sense, because otherwise it’s going to be difficult over the next few games too.”
Even with the squad rotation between playing domestically and internationally, all players are expected to meet the standards set by the Dutchman’s firm reign.
He continued: “On the second goal we gifted an incredible opportunity. It’s not possible to concede a goal like that. In the second half we did slightly better, but certainly not playing the way I want to see Inter play. After the red card it all became more difficult and the 3-1 sealed it.
“We gave the ball away too many times and must improve a great deal in that sense, because otherwise it’s going to be difficult over the next few games too.”
The words of the manager were echoed by Felipe Melo, who believed the team only started playing well when they were two goals down.
“We must understand that Europe is not simple, it is different to playing in Italy. We have to play every game as if it’s a derby and so far we haven’t done that. The second half was better, but after the red card it became really tough. Before the break we only started playing once we were already 2-0 down.
“We expected Sparta Prague to be strong, because they changed coach and that always creates an extra desire to prove yourself within the squad. This is not the moment to talk, we need to bring out everything we’ve got and prepare for Roma, because there’s no time for anything else.
“On the second goal we should’ve closed down the free kick, I was taught that as a child, but today nobody put themselves in that position and we left the opponent clear. It’s a collective error and everyone is to blame when we lose, just as everyone deserves credit when we win.”
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