LIVE REACTION: Inter vs. Napoli MADNESS at San Siro

Football Italia

Lorenzo Bettoni from San Siro and Richard Hall react to the Serie A Round 3 game, Inter vs Napoli. Join us with your questions and thoughts!

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Welcome to San Siro. Sorry, we are a lot late. My bad. My fault cuz we had some connection issues here outside San Siro. Still a lot of fun, sir. And for the Nerazzurri, Richard, what a game. What a game. What can I say? What a game. >> I needed I needed that extra time to um >> [laughter] >> So, it's fine for you. >> It's okay. Yeah, it was It's just insane. You know, at one point when it goes 2-0 in a comical fashion, let's not be let's not sugarcoat this. Inter dominated for the first 20 minutes. It all went crazy. And we'll go into it in depth. But I think what Inter showed was some fight there, some real fight to come back. And just an insane game. I think that's probably the I think we'll struggle to find the best 45 minutes of football in the second half and you know, all season that we saw in the second half. It was it was brilliant, calamitous. It's crazy. Um but for me it's that it the job's done and that's the main thing. >> Uh Bridge, um I mean, there's a lot to say. I've I've been here since around uh 4 p.m. So, 2 hours before kick off, probably even earlier. And it was so hot, really. I shot a few videos that that we're going to edit and post in the next few days. You might see from my face as well. It's not just because of the bad connection, it's because of the whole day. It was so hot. So, in one video I said, "Look, the first half is going to be slow because it's just too hot to play football." It was it's September, but it feels like August or even July. And And it was just it was I think it was just too much to play football. But still, I think we saw a very good first half. I think Napoli were were were less defensive than I would have thought. They were They obviously start deep much more than Inter did, but I would say that they had the best chances from open play than Inter had the best one right before the end of the first half with that free kick from Federico Dimarco. He hit the post. And then the game entirely changed in the second half. Inter were a bit sloppy in the build-up to the first goal. Then they got caught by surprise, I would say, from the quick Napoli throw-in from which Haaland scored the second goal. But then the reaction was extraordinary and I think one talking point here will be the use of substitutions made by Chivu and Massimiliano Allegri. I didn't dislike Napoli's tactical plan. I think he was right. I just I think a couple of substitutions from from Allegri were wrong. And I also think uh he needs to realize that just with the current um names available in defense, he's not going to be able to defend inside the box for such a long time in the coming weeks, in the coming games, especially starting with Arsenal. You see, when Napoli were forced to defend inside the area, it was a mess. >> Yeah, Massimiliano, if you look at the the way that game went, it was only moments before Inter scored and Napoli could have put that game out of sight. It was really really close, but there's two areas really. Napoli I get the beginning of the game, you know, like you said, 35 degrees, I believe, in in in Milan today. Super hot, as you say. Inter dominated that early part and Napoli were almost feeling it out. It's like the beginning of a boxing game, boxing match, sorry. And then when Napoli eventually uh Napoli score, you see them take that ascendancy. As soon as you get the second goal, you could see, as you say, the substitutions, but also the retreat completely back. And I get it that in Allegri's teams in the past, you might think, "Okay, it's the right time to lock it down. Let's see this out." But then, you know, even when it goes to 2-1, Napoli had chances still. Um and it showed that maybe if they were a little more offensive and a little braver from my side. Um to take that. Because from my perspective, Inter in the back looked really open at times. I mean, you know, the opening goal, it was You don't often see a goal like that for Inter. It's almost like pinball, you know, the ball bouncing around in the box, players like throwing themselves in front of it. There's no cohesion, no plan. And then the second goal was inexcusable. Um you know, to to not to not recognize I think you know, Lorenzo was the only person on the bench who's shouting, "Yeah, look at Look, it's not going to apply." Um so Inter really didn't do themselves any favors there. But, as you say, you know, I I think the tactics just allowed Inter to to get back into the game. It allowed them more possession. Um a bit of a strange sub. I I understand the substitution of Dimarco coming off, but I think that at the time it it it was a bit of a eye-opener cuz you you Inter thought that was an area that we could continue to use and it looked like he was a threat. But eventually it's Lautaro again coming through. Um I know that I'll be interested to know there's a couple of refereeing decisions there as well. Um you know, the one Zielinski probably was okay. No issues with that. The one that held the the the hold on Curtis Jones raised my eyebrows, I know. So, yeah, look, at the end of the day, these games sometimes are difficult to analyze because they just are simply crazy. Too much They They do really. And uh yeah, I I Inter will just put that one aside and think it doesn't matter how that result came. From a Napoli point of view, again, you're right with the defensive element to it there, but I think there are some positives there for Napoli against Arsenal. But especially defending set pieces going to be hard. >> Yeah, you know, uh I think I was a bit surprised when I saw the lineup and I saw Çalhanoğlu out for Inter. Um I rate Sensi very highly. I rate Nicolò Barella, obviously, very highly. Uh but I think the first half you could see Çalhanoğlu was not there. Um Inter didn't play badly. I think they they were on par with Napoli. They they had more courage than Napoli. They tried to play the ball and to keep possession more than Napoli, but they were not as effective as they are with Çalhanoğlu on the field. And I think uh it made sense from an Inter perspective, given what we've been saying all summer about the Nerazzurri, about their ambition in Serie A, but also in the Champions League, to take some risks in those Serie A matches and bench one of of your best players in order to have him fit uh uh in the first big game of the season in the Champions League uh next week. But I mean, Inter have great depth, especially in central midfield. They have a lot of options. But probably if there's one player who is very, very hard to replace, nearly irreplaceable, I would think it's Çalhanoğlu. >> Yeah, definitely. I mean, you obviously especially with these performances in the first few games, you know, against Monza. And I'm not just talking about the goals, of course, against Monza and Cagliari. >> [laughter] >> Uh he is the absolute definitive player for us for these games. I mean, James, when he when he came on, I thought he did did okay, did pretty well, still obviously adjusting to a little bit. Um you know, so that was okay. Zielinski again, I I prefer Zielinski coming off the bench personally. I think he's more impactful in that way, but just looking at the game, I mean, the possession was, you know, 63% to Inter, 37 to Napoli. It's hard to see that in some way. You can You can look at the the domination midfield to a point there. Cuz there was Inter did control lots of that, but watching the game, it's hard to see. The first 20 minutes, yeah, 25 minutes. Uh and then after 2-0, you can see again them coming through. I mean, the game, you know, it was it was crazy. It really was, and I think that where the midfield lacked what Çalhanoğlu can obviously do is slow the game down. Midfielders There's many midfielders who can take the ball, pass the ball, move the ball, transition the ball, but Çalhanoğlu dictates the tempo of the game. And he's able to stop stop the the opposition off when they're in full on a tackle in the counter, really coming through, and he's calmed the game down. And I think the it lacked it lacked calmness today. There was a bit of a panic with Hakimi not on the pitch, but I mean, look, you know, it is hard to say. 29 shots for Inter, 16 for Napoli. I mean, you know, it's just it's just nuts. So, I but I do think it would have been a better game with Hakimi. >> Sorry again? >> I think it would have been a bit of a calmer game with Hakimi. I think he would have taken the the pace out of the game a little bit. Uh >> Yeah. Well, sorry, John. Uh comments from John must be very happy Inter fan. We got another one from um Cobo Libra. Can't really guess what the name is. Uh Martinez, man of the match, he says. Um Great to have a safe keeper back on goal. Good save. I have to say fantastic saves from the first half from Martinez, especially the very first one on who was there? This No, I can't remember. I think probably Hoyland. No, it wasn't Dzeko. It was behind Dzeko I think it was and then Politano again on the rebound. Fantastic Martinez Martinez save I have to say and it was one of the talking points now this summer Richard whether he would fit in Sommer's boots. He had a few issues with the ball at his feet against Monza, but every time he was involved last season he I mean, he never felt Inter were missing Sommer, so it was it's kind of expected he had these type of performances, but really his performance tonight is is one to highlight because as as this one here says, it was I think Sommer was better than many Inter fans say for last season, but I think they were smart in not getting any other goalkeeper and keeping their trust in Martinez. >> They're very different goalkeepers. You know, with Sommer I mean, I know sometimes people look at goalkeeping is very you know, it's objective because you look at it and you think sometimes I think when you had Yann Sommer the ball especially in his feet and those small passes that they go right back to the goal line or those Sommer's extremely good at that. Then season before last he was extremely Yes, he was some mistakes last season, but again he what he brought to the defense was a calmness overall in the in the game play especially building out from the back. But then with Sommer Martinez I think what you get is a bit more of a enthusiastic is the wrong word, but it's a more switched on goalkeeper in that sense of he plays in there he plays better with more adrenaline. You know, he's a bit he's probably a bit louder. You see him coming out he's he's but he's confident in himself and he proved it today. And I think what Inter are transitioning from isn't the fact of one bad good goalkeeper to a bad goalkeeper or a bad goalkeeper to a good goalkeeper. >> [laughter] >> You're chance transferring a different goalkeeper. Someone who's very much, you know, very calm, very very no no issues under pressure, and someone who wants to come for the balls, who wants to make those saves, who's really really full on. So, listen, he had a great game today, and I hope he continues for him because yeah, he he did well. Shout out, by the way, to Ian Kerr there. He's a big game winner for Chivu. Ian Kerr from heads up the Inter Club Belfast, by the way. So, shout out to him. And it was a good win, especially after a big win for Chivu because he was criticized for that a lot last season, wasn't he? You know, not not winning the big games. So, I think he'll quite enjoy that. >> It's interesting what he said on the eve of the game. He said, "What do you mean by the big games?" Because if you mean Inter and Juve, they were out of top four. And then And then Amorim didn't reply but he was It's It's a touch of Mourinho from Chivu, let me say. And I saw another little touch of his past with Mourinho when Inter scored the winner tonight cuz everyone, you know, Martinez went under the Curva Nord cuz he was just there, and then everyone went hug him. And Chivu just started running from the bench, went inside the pitch, went to hug his players. And at some point it was just him and Calhanoglu on the field when all the others were celebrating. And And Chivu, after celebrating, he he realized Calhanoglu was there, and he stopped celebrating and he went there and he started giving him tactical instructions while all the other players were celebrating. It's something that you don't see very often. Sometimes you see it I mean, you you you would see it from the sidelines but not a a play a coach who actually gets inside the pitch to give tactical guidance to to a player while his his teammates are celebrating. And this reminds me a little bit of Mourinho. What he said in his press conference, what he did after the game. Um I have to read his post-match interviews, but but it's interesting to see he has this part of the special one which you can still see. And obviously, I guess it will be a talking point as well in the coming days cuz Inter are preparing to go uh to Real Madrid to uh to visit the um Mourinho's team in the first game of the Champions League. But let's stick to this game again uh for a few more minutes. Um Richard, from the Napoli perspective, it's it's surely a missed chance. Um it's uh they had taken a two-goal lead. >> Yeah. >> Uh you could tell Inter would score at least once because they had their chances, because they would uh keep the ball for longer than the Partenopei. >> Yeah. >> And again, at the same time, I still think uh if these are the players available in defense for Napoli for a big portion of the first half of the season, they are going to struggle because they have quality in midfield and in attack. I think Hirving Lozano played a decent game. Politano scored a goal. Højlund, he has the trait of a leader. Like the way he talks to his teammates, the way that he moves on the field, that he moves to get the ball. Uh he really is, I think, the leader of this team. And he showed it on the pitch today besides uh his goal and his involvement in the first goal as well. Uh but the problem for Allegri is if he wants to be wants to score and then be defensive, right? It's acceptable. Everyone does that. But the players they have right now are not enough because it's like the defensive depth and quality is not there. He will struggle all the time if he keeps defending inside the box for most of the games. >> Yeah, I think Yeah, again, I mean, he said his comments that are coming out now, I'm just reading them, you know, he's talking to the design and saying that it was hugely entertaining for the spectators and Inter, but less enjoyable for us. And uh you know, Allegri is saying they need to improve because defensively. And again, that leads to the fact of is he going to is he just saying, "No, we're still going to stick with this tactic." and do that? Um you know, these are the usual statements in the fact that he said football beyond logic. Um which is true. This game was a bit beyond logic. But again, he he said here, and this is an interesting one. Um he said, "We could have scored the winner, so could they, but in the end they they won the game." Uh proof that football is beyond logic. But then he said, "We wanted to defend inside the area and then conceded a goal like that. Uh we need to improve it." So, you are right. I mean, that's exactly as he's looking at it. So, from those comments just literally just read, those are more to come. That's from Football Italia. Anyway, it's just got to come from the the website. It looks as though that's not going to change. This is something he wants to do, and rather than think maybe the team is not able to do so, he's like, "No, we need to work on making that better." I'm not saying that's wrong, and it will work, of course, um against a smaller clubs, but I'm not sure, like you said before, defending inside your own box against a team like Arsenal is going to pay uh pay dividends. >> I want to read this message from uh uh Meazza. Uh because uh this is exactly the point that I've made in the video that we'll publish I guess on Monday on uh the atmosphere here inside the stadium before and during the game and after the game as well. This is exactly the point that I've made, and this is exactly the reason why I think football Italian football can change this season. It can be a turning point for Italian football. I haven't seen Do you know that rule we spoke about at the beginning of the campaign, like a player stays on the ground whether he needs medical treatment or not. If that player is staying down, requires the game to be stopped, then he stays out for a minute. >> Yeah. >> And with this rule applied, it doesn't also mean that not many players remain down, but it also means that the teams keep playing. So, you don't you don't want to see teams throwing the ball out or putting the ball out because the player is down. You see teams that actually, hello? How are you doing? You good? Speak in English? Come and see come start. >> [laughter] >> Napoli fan, Napoli fan. Yeah? >> Logging in, yeah? >> Yeah. >> Live? >> Live, yeah. >> Yeah? >> English? You're English. You're English. You're English. >> English, yeah, yeah. >> English, yeah, yeah. I go I I go into You go into fun? >> Into fun, yeah. >> Into fun, into fun. From? >> Sheffield, England. >> From Sheffield, England. You know Football Italia? >> I do, yeah. >> We are Football Italia. >> Ah, brilliant. >> We are Football Italia. Do you want to come live on Football Italia? >> to come to Football Italia. >> Come. >> Hello. Hello, guys. >> English fans from Sheffield. [laughter] What's your name? >> My name's Carl, and this is I'm Carl, this is Ellis. >> Hello. >> Yeah, yes. How are you doing? You good? >> So, we there. We traveled to France, >> Yeah. >> Belgium, >> Right. >> Yeah, don't touch the wires, otherwise you Can you hear him? >> Yeah, I've got him. >> Can you hear him? Yeah, we traveled through I'm a Sheffield United fan from England. We traveled through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia into Italy to come see this game today. First time you come to San Siro? First time at San Siro, yeah. First time. First time. >> Nice one. >> Unbelievable, by the way. >> First time at San >> I I I like like but I coach you uh >> Wow, wow, wow. >> No. Look at this moment. Look at this moment. >> Amazing, amazing. >> If this stadium gets pulled down to build a new one crazy. Crazy. >> They make it just hearing from you. >> Yeah. >> I did did the fact that this will get pulled down soon is insane. Insane. >> How many times have you been here? >> I I I I know I've been here now they can do what they want. >> But I'm saying it is >> the fact that they're going to pull it down is insane. Like Like I said it Highbury in England, Highbury they pulled it down to build the Emirates. >> Yes. >> Okay, Emirates is good. Brilliant. Highbury was good. Uh Tottenham Hotspur stadium >> Yep. >> the one of the biggest I like. I've been to that as a Sheffield United fan. Probably the best stadium I've ever been to. But White Hart Lane was iconic. So What do you do? What do you You can't You you keep replacing these iconic stadiums with new stadiums. And I get it like these have they can all box in, they can all do NHL, they can all do everything. But and then uh the soul yeah please soul I don't Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> It's called San Siro. Thanks for joining. >> Guys, it was good. >> I'm good question. I've just got something for this Richard here from Football Italia and I also do the official Inter podcast. Um I've got a question for you. Well, it's not a question. I remember actually seeing Inter at Bramall Lane preseason friendly. I don't know if you remember that one. So yeah, I've been been a few places with Inter but I've actually been to your home ground with Inter as well. So Yeah, many memories. >> Yeah, try to forget that. Try to forget that. >> [laughter] >> Ivan, also the home of football. Uh can you hear me? >> Yeah, got you now. Sorry. >> Yeah. Sheffi