Chivu: ‘Inter wasted energy arguing with Napoli bench’

Cristian Chivu believes Inter lost 3-1 to Napoli because they ‘wasted energy arguing’ with the opposition bench, but feels ‘even more confident’ of their future success.

The Nerazzurri were the favourites going into the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after winning their last seven on the bounce in all competition, while the Partenopei were struggling with an injury crisis.

However, a controversial Kevin De Bruyne penalty, Scott McTominay and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa counter-attacks sealed the result, despite a Hakan Calhanoglu spot-kick.

It was that penalty that hit the headlines and prompted Inter President Beppe Marotta to speak to the media first, but Chivu did not want to be drawn on the matter.

“I talk about football and the match,” Chivu told DAZN Italia.

“I would like to talk about the good things the players did in the first half. We tried to stay in the game after that, to keep our balance, but we hit the woodwork twice and reacted to going behind.

“We lost our balance in the second half because we were so eager to get the game back on track, so we conceded for 2-0. Despite that, we were still able to get back into it, then wasted energy arguing with their bench and from that moment on we lost sharpness.”

The argument was largely between the Napoli staff and coach Antonio Conte, Inter players Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez.

After that, the hosts scored a third goal with Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa after a flicked-on throw-in.

“It is down to the waste of energy that we threw away for nothing. We should’ve understood the moments of the match,” continued Chivu.

“In the second goal, we didn’t sense the danger, as there were so many of us pushing and building, we were unprepared on a ball Spinazzola just hit upfield to McTominay.

“Then we reacted too slowly to the third goal, which was down to losing sharpness. We cannot concede so easily from a throw-in.”

Inter had won seven in a row in all competition before this setback, but it is the second Scudetto showdown defeat after their 4-3 to Juventus.

“I am proud of what the lads are doing, and even more confident after tonight,” assured Chivu.

“I saw a great first half, despite the Napoli enthusiasm, as we were dominant. We came here to play our game, but unfortunately this is football. You have to maintain concentration and we lacked something in the second half.”

There was an extremely tense moment on the touchline between Denzel Dumfries and the Napoli bench, which then saw Antonio Conte and Lautaro Martinez exchange ugly hand gestures.

“I don’t know what happened and I don’t care. I will tell the players in future not to waste their energy just to argue. We’ve got to focus on the game and where we want to go,” concluded Chivu.