Inzaghi under pressure as Inter take away day blues to Porto
Inter Milan's Bosnian forward Edin Dzeko (2ndL) celebrates his team's victory with teammates at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, on January 4, 2023 (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)
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Friday's 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Spezia was the
latest poor effort away from the San Siro and left Inter once again 18 points
behind champions-elect Napoli.
Inzaghi and his team were booed and insulted by the Inter
fans present at the Stadio Picco, who had to watch the son of AC Milan icon
Paolo Maldini slot home the opening goal.
Inter have only held on to second place in Italy's top
flight thanks to Lazio failing to win at Bologna on Saturday, but their bid to
qualify for next season's Champions League is being damaged by their dreadful
away form.
Inzaghi said "we won't be able to sleep" after
Friday's hugely disappointing eighth loss of the Serie A season, which took
their tally of goals conceded to 24 in 13 league away matches.
"We're not happy about our results away from the San
Siro. Last year it was a different story," said Inzaghi.
"We have had some great results away, like at Barcelona
(a 3-3 draw), and we know that we need to put in a great performance if we're
going to reach the quarter-finals."
Inter's defensive wobbles were also present in their group
stage campaign, with five goals conceded in matches at Barcelona and Bayern
Munich.
And elimination on Tuesday would not only mean missing out
on a first last-eight tie since 2011, it would also heap more pressure on
Inzaghi with fierce rivals Juventus visiting the San Siro on Sunday.
One piece of good news is that Milan Skriniar might be ready
to return from a spell on the sidelines with lower back pain.
Porto, gunning for a third quarter-final in five seasons,
have been a bogey side to Italian teams in recent years and are aiming to add
to the series of Serie A scalps which include Juventus and Roma.
The Portuguese champions had to come from behind when they
knocked out Roma four seasons ago and have cause for optimism given how they
performed in Milan last month.
Marko Grujic, Mehdi Taremi and Zaidu Sanusi all had great
opportunities to score before Romelu Lukaku netted the only goal of the game
shortly before the end.
However Sergio Conceicao again has to deal with important
absences.
Gabriel Veron is out with an ankle injury and Evanilson and Galeno are both suffering from muscle problems. In addition, Otavio will be suspended and unable to play in the game.


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