Ex AC Milan & Real Madrid Coach Argues Inter Milan Starting Lineup ‘Among The Big Teams In Champions League’

Legendary former coach Fabio Capello feels Inter Milan are “among the big teams” in the Champions League when their starters play.

Capello gave his thoughts on the Nerazzurri’s performance against Young Boys in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. He stressed the difference in quality between the starters and backups.

It wouldn’t be entirely fair to say that Inter played a weakened starting eleven against Young Boys on Wednesday.

Regular starters like Yann Sommer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Nicolo Barella were in the lineup. Albeit the latter playing in the somewhat unfamiliar holding midfield role.

And then, Inter have worked hard to construct a squad with the depth to fight on multiple fronts.

Therefore, “second choice” players like Mehdi Taremi, Davide Frattesi, and Yann Bisseck have undeniable quality.

Nevertheless, Inter’s starting eleven had their struggles against Young Boys.

And then, it was the addition of some of the more regular starters during the second half that really gave the Nerazzurri the injection of quality that they needed to get the three points.

Capello: “Inter Among The Big Teams In Champions League With Starters”

The scorer of Inter’s late winner against Young Boys was Marcus Thuram. The Frenchman did not start the match.

And Federico Dimarco did not start either. But the Italian international certainly had an impact once he was on, setting up Thuram’s winner.

Perhaps this was evidence that, for all of Inter’s depth in various areas of the pitch, they are just not quite the same team without certain players playing.

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid coach Capello said that “With the starters on the pitch it’s a different story.”

“When Inzaghi introduced [Thuram], Lautaro, Dimarco, and Bastoni, Inter did what the big teams in Europe do,” he argued.

“They won the ball fast. They go forward quickly and vertically with five players.”

‘And they won,” Capello said.

“In terms of the quality of players and mentality, they’re clearly ahead of the other Italian teams,” the former coach said.

“It will be a good match against Arsenal,” he anticipated. “Particularly because Arteta’s team are less aggressive than some other English teams.”