Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi claims players are suffering from 'physical and mental fatigue' ahead of Barcelona UCL clash
Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi claimed that his team is suffering from physical and mental fatigue ahead of facing Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. The first leg is set to take place on April 30 at the Montjuic Stadium.
Inter Milan's treble dreams ended after they lost the Coppa Italia semi-final 4-1 on aggregate to AC Milan on April 23. They are still table-toppers in Serie A but lost their last game 1-0 against Bologna, making things more tense than usual. Further, they will face Roma on April 27— three days before the UCL clash against Barcelona. Given the hectic schedule, the players seem tired both physically and mentally.
In an interview with Sport MediaSet after the Coppa Italia loss, Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi spoke about his team's exhaustion. He said (via Barca Blaugranes):
"We have to keep going. There’s both physical and mental fatigue—we need to be stronger than all of that. This journey has brought us a lot of joy, but also some disappointments, like tonight. We should’ve done better—we lacked sharpness in both boxes at key moments of the game."
He continued:
"It can’t be an excuse. Every team is dealing with fatigue. We’ve had a more packed schedule than others, but again, it’s not an excuse. If we didn’t make it to the final, it means we didn’t do enough."
Meanwhile, Barcelona also have a packed schedule ahead of the two legs of the UCL semi-finals. They will face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on April 27 before clashing against Inter Milan on April 30 for the first leg. The Catalans also have a LaLiga match against Real Valladolid on May 3 before the UCL semi-final second leg three days later.
"It sounds like a joke to me" - Barcelona coach Hansi Flick slams LaLiga for tight match schedule ahead of UCL S/F clash against Inter
During his press conference last week, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick slammed LaLiga for their tight fixture schedule. He said (via Barca Blaugranes):
"It has happened again and the people in charge of the schedule don’t want to talk about it. It’s not an excuse, but it sounds like a joke to me. Why can’t we play away at 4 pm or 6 pm, just like we do at home? They’ve done it again!"
Flick's comments were about the Catalans facing Real Valladolid at 9 PM CET in an away clash on May 3. The timing makes it difficult for them to return to the city on time and gives them less time to prepare for the UCL semi-final second leg (A) on May 6.
"It’ll happen again before Milan. We’ll arrive very late, at 4am on Sunday. I’ve never seen this anywhere, only in the Spanish league. Those responsible don’t want to talk about it, but it’s not good," Flick added.
The tight scheduling makes players prone to injuries, while also tiring them out before big games. Barcelona must also take every LaLiga clash seriously, as they are strong contenders to win the league as table toppers.
