Cristian Chivu insisted that Inter’s late defeat to Atletico Madrid “hurts for everyone” as they lost for the first time in the Champions League this season.
Jose Maria Gimenez scored a 93rd-minute winner at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano after Piotr Zielinski cancelled out Julian Alvaraz’s opener.
Timed at 92 minutes and 31 seconds, Gimenez’s goal for Atletico was the latest winning goal scored against Inter in a Champions League match.
Inter suffered just their second defeat in 19 games in the league/group phase of the competition (W13 D4), while this was the first time since November 2023 that they had conceded more than one goal in such matches (3-3 draw with Benfica).
Chivu was disappointed with the result against Atletico, especially after their derby defeat to AC Milan on Sunday.
“It hurts for everyone, because there are many regrets. We came here fired up to do so much, more than going home empty-handed,” Chivu told Sky Sport Italia.
“We had started quite well, then conceded the goal, had the strength and courage to react, showing quality and intensity.
“We sat a little deeper after a while, partly because the opponents deserve credit for pushing us back.
“There were a few counter-attacks that unfortunately we were unable to make the most of. Then at the last minute this corner came out of nowhere. We had our best men in the box for set plays, for height and ability in the air, but we still conceded a goal.
“This team must know how to react, be aware that it is strong. It must understand the moments of the match, be more concrete, more clinical, not focus so much on pretty football.
“We reacted with determination and quality to get the equaliser, but were unable to defend the result to the end, nor make those counter-attacks count to win it.”
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