Internazionale coach Hector Cuper saidhe was pleased with the determined attitude shown by his team in last night’s 3-2 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen.
‘The thing I liked most tonight was the determination the team showed,’ said ÿCuper.
‘We did very well at closing down space and then starting up attacks quickly.
‘Playing with a three-man midfield carries the risk of leaving yourself exposed to attacks down the flanks but we did well to ensure that did not happen.’ With a mounting injury list, Cuper can now look forward to a two-month break in the Champions League in the knowledge that his team have taken maximum points so far in their second stage group.
Cuper said: ‘That is an advantage for us right now as it will enable us to hopefully recover some of the players we have missing. We can focus on the (Italian) championship for while but it is tough – we always have to be attentive to Serie A as well.’
Levrkusen coach Klaus Toppmoller insisted his side are still in the race despite defeatsto Inter and Barcelona.
‘We are not out of it at all. In the first phase we lost our opening two games and I said it would be possible to recover and it was,’ Toppmoller said.
‘Having played against Barcelona and Inter, I have to say there is not a huge difference between the teams in this group.
‘Tonight I thought we gave a good performance and we have to remember we were missing several key players such as defenders Lucio and Jens Nowotny. We created some good chances against a world class side.’
