In The Zone: Inter's winning combination in Munich
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
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UEFA Technical Observer Sir Gareth Southgate gets the measure of Inter's impressive UEFA Champions League win at Bayern in the quarter-final first leg.
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Prior to Tuesday night, Bayern had gone 22 matches unbeaten at home in the UEFA Champions League. So just what did Inter do to halt that sequence with their impressive 2-1 quarter-final first-leg victory?
According to UEFA Technical Observer Sir Gareth Southgate, the Serie A leaders excelled at both ends of the pitch, the former England manager highlighting the work of their front two of Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram as well as the Player of the Match, centre-back Alessandro Bastoni.
Inter's forward planning
This analysis, brought to you by FedEx, begins with Inter's attacking game, the video below showing their opening goal first. We see Martínez and Thuram combine twice – first in the centre-circle before the Argentinian works the ball out to the left – and then inside the box after the ball comes in from Carlos Augusto.
"I wanted originally to shoot with my left foot but I had so many players in front of me, so I opted to change it and go with the other boot," Martínez told Sky Sport Italia afterwards.
As we witness in the lead-up to their late winning goal, scored by substitute Davide Frattesi, Martínez is again involved in the middle of the pitch during a move started by goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Recognising Inter's attacking efficiency, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said: "There is a slight moment of loss of concentration in the marking. They use it really well and then every pass afterwards is really well executed, which gives them the goal."
As for Southgate, he observed that their attackers did not just excel in the penalty box. "Both goals involved balls played into the forwards around the halfway line," he explained. "This has always been a big feature of [Simone] Inzaghi's Inter – the hold-up and combination play between two forwards in a 3-5-2. It's not so often defenders have to play against a pair of strikers in modern football.
"The set from Thuram to Lautaro for the first goal showed the understanding the players have for each other and will be the work of lots of hours on the training pitch "
Southgate's reference to their "understanding" chimes with Inter coach Inzaghi's reflection that the second goal followed "the principles we have had for four years now". Inzaghi also praised his players for their "technique" and "personality" on the ball – and so, while Bayern understood the importance of "controlling the transition", to quote defender Eric Dier, that proved easier said than done.
Bastoni embodies Inter composure
Southgate also emphasised the composure of an Inter side who exhibited "patience in keeping the ball across their back line, drawing Bayern onto them and often playing quick vertical passes to exploit the space in behind".
One Inter defender impressed him particularly, the above-mentioned Bastoni, and the final clip of the video above shows his alertness and swift reactions as he makes a superb block from Thomas Müller, so capturing the defiance of a team who have conceded only three times in 11 games of this European campaign.
Southgate elaborated: "He embodies the willingness of Inter defensively to get their body in line to block shots and he made crucial interventions with tackles, blocks and also an aerial challenge in the last minutes."
As reflected by this graphic, displaying his defensive and offensive actions, Bastoni's contribution on the ball was significant too and this is a recurring theme with the Inter centre-backs given the way they rotate with their midfielders – a tactic which caught the eye of the UEFA Technical Observer Group at the start of the season. As Southgate added: "Bastoni showed excellent composure when receiving the ball, was able to pass forward but also step out with the ball and run past opponents."
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