Author: Soorya G
After the 1-0 defeat to Bahia, Eduardo Coudet’s post-match interview was full of regrets, mainly because of the absences in the team. The coach acknowledged that Inter played below average and expressed his dissatisfaction with the inefficiency of the attack. However, despite the challenging position in the table, he reiterated his position of securing a place in the 2024 Libertadores.
“We feel the absences. If we compare how the team played in the Gre-Nal with tonight’s performance, it’s very different. That’s not an excuse“, lamented Coudet.
Rochet, Renê, Johnny, Aránguiz and Valencia were the absent starters as the team failed to repeat their performance from the Gre-Nal. Even so, the team had chances to score, but once again struggled to convert them. At the end of the first half, a defensive error allowed Biel to score from outside the box.
The performance worsened after the break, to the point where the opposition had three goals disallowed for offside. Inter rarely threatened Marcos Felipe’s goal. The team still has the weakest attack in the league, with just 23 goals in 27 games. That, coupled with the fact that their defense has been shut out in seven consecutive games, doesn’t bode well for Internacional.
“We need to work on the team as a unit, not just defense and attack. The truth is that we haven’t been able to score goals, and that’s complicated. We need to score more goals. It’s a fact: we have trouble scoring“, emphasized Eduardo Coudet.
“The team can play much better. We didn’t play at our best. In terms of odds, they were not significantly higher. I agree that the team can show a lot more. That’s why I said that we can talk about absences, but when you lose, you have to accept criticism. No one can say they haven’t had the chance to play. We need to improve and win to have a chance of achieving our goal” added the coach.
With the result, Inter remain in 12th place, but the gap to the top six has increased to 12 points, while the advantage over the relegation zone has shrunk to just two points. Despite the challenging position in the bottom half of the table, the coach emphasizes his intention to fight for a place in the Libertadores.
“I still believe we’re in the fight. We have no doubt that we can compete and climb the table. It’s not an excuse. I accept criticism when we lose. I think everyone is aware that we had a lot of absences. It was a game we could have won, but we conceded a goal at the end of the first half that affected us. I still think we can compete to climb the table“, concluded Coudet.