Why Inter continue to struggle in big matches under Chivu

Big matches in both Serie A and the Champions League continue to be an issue for Inter under head coach Cristian Chivu, who is yet to win any of his first five major tests in charge of the Nerazzurri; Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss at home against Liverpool the latest. 

The 2025-26 season has got off to a largely encouraging start for the Nerazzurri, who sit in third place in Serie A, one point off the top, and are fifth in the Champions League table after six matches, with a play-off spot practically guaranteed at this stage. 

However, a recurring issue for Inter this term is their inability to claim victory in matches against direct rivals in the league and Champions League. Chivu’s side have lost 4-3 to Juventus, 3-1 to Napoli, 1-0 to Milan, 2-1 to Atletico Madrid and 1-0 to Liverpool so far this season. 

Questions are starting to be asked of Inter’s ability to keep their intensity up for the full duration of big matches, given that they have conceded in the 88th minute or later in three of the aforementioned games. 

Vasilije Adzic scored the winner in the 91st minute for Juventus, Jose Maria Gimenez in the 93rd for Atletico and Dominik Szoboszlai in the 88th for Liverpool. 

There have also been suggestions that the Nerazzurri are trying ‘too hard’ to win games instead of settling for hard-fought draws, therefore taking more risks and leaving themselves exposed to danger towards the end of big matches. 

None of Inter’s 21 competitive matches this season have ended in draws: They have 15 wins and six losses across Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. 

There has been an element of misfortune as well. 

As has been widely discussed on Wednesday, the Nerazzurri were left feeling hard-done by after an incredibly soft penalty was given against Alessandro Bastoni for the slightest of tugs on Florian Wirtz late on against Liverpool. 

There were also claims that Henrikh Mkhitaryan was harshly punished during a penalty incident during the first-half against Napoli as well, a call which many argued changed the dynamic of the game. 

VAR was also called upon to award a goal against Inter in the early stages of their 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in November. 

The Nerazzurri have also managed to hit the woodwork eight times in their 14 Serie A matches so far this season. Only Napoli (10) have done so on more occasions. 

Whatever the reason, Inter’s record in big matches comes as a frustration for Chivu, his players and supporters with the knowledge that they would be sitting alone at the top of the Serie A table had they won one of their matches against Juventus, Milan or Napoli this season.