Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Thursday, 27 November 2025, 07:36 / Updated on Thursday, 27 November 2025 07:38
Inter, coached by Cristi Chivu, suffered their first defeat in the League after 4 consecutive successes, 1-2 with Atletico in Madrid.
The Nerazzurri conceded in extra-time as Gimenez scored Atletico's winner, and on Sky Sports Italia, the famous Fabio Capello weighed in on the failure analysis of why Cristi Chivu's side collapsed at the end.
The Romanian's former coach at AS Roma, Capello claims that, since his appointment at Inter, in the summer, he has not been able to eliminate a question of the mentality of his players, who, after a goal scored, instead of causing further problems for the opponent, deliberately cede the initiative
Fabio Capello: “Cristi Chivu made too many changes”
“Inter could have won. They had a good performance but you can't give up in games like this at the last minute. After equalizing, it became an amorphous team, did not press and flattened, there was no longer the determination before.
Cristi Chivu / Photo: Imago Images
The Nerazzurri score goals and then sit on the bottom. This is a characteristic that Chivu has not been able to remove,” Capello pointed out. The former great coach also blamed Cristi Chivu for making too many changes in the second half, which had a negative impact on the team's expression.
“There were too many changes, in my opinion, and probably the new players did not find their positions. It becomes very difficult to position yourself, and if you don't put an obstacle in the way of a player like Gimenez, who is strong in the air…what happens happens,” concluded Capello. Chivu made all 5 substitutions he was entitled to starting in the 65th minute when he introduced Susic and Thuram, then Pio Esposito and Frattesi (72nd), and in the 77th minute Luis Henrique.
Fabio Capello: “Atletico's first goal was irregular”
ElFabio Capello also spoke about the phase of Atletico's first goal, the one scored by Julian Alvarez: “Atletico's goal was irregular. The home team's player committed a handball“.
The ball was crossed to Alex Baena who took the ball first with his hip and then cleared it with his hand. He shot, the ball ricocheted to Julian Alvarez, who did not forgive like Dimarco or Lautaro at the other goal. After VAR analysis, the goal was validated.
