Inter plane issue in Germany forces late return to Italy

Inter’s bad night in Germany didn’t end with the final whistle marking their first defeat and goal conceded in the Champions League this season, as a problem with their plane forced them to postpone their return to Italy to the following morning.

The Nerazzurri were expected to travel back to Milan shortly after the end of the game, which ended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, but faced an unforeseen situation once they reached the airport in Koln, about 40km away from the city where they played.

Plane problem forces Inter’s late return from Germany ahead of Lazio fixture

As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, as Inter players were preparing to take off, a plane malfunction forced them to wait four hours inside the aircraft on the airstrip, before realising the problem couldn’t be fixed.

As a result, they had to spend a further night in Koln after booking a hotel at the last minute, before flying back to Milan in the morning of Wednesday.

The pink newspaper added that Inter’s late return complicates their plans for their next Serie A game away to Lazio next Monday, with Inzaghi probably forced to tweak his side’s training schedule.

The Nerazzurri will remain in the Champions League top eight at the end of the current round despite losing their first league phase match but will need to win at least one of their two remaining fixtures to secure a place in the round of 16 without going through the knockout phase play-offs.