Inter beat Venezia 2-0 as Chivu admits his side lacked energy

Inter eventually beat Venezia 2-0, but Cristian Chivu made no attempt to hide his frustration after the match. Two late own goals proved decisive in a difficult evening at the Stadio Penzo. The win took Inter to 25 points after nine Serie A matches.

Chivu said criticism of his team was fair. “We played without energy and without ideas for finding the right solutions. These are the games that come around once or twice a year, when you risk coming away with nothing,” he said. The coach also felt Inter had lacked the intensity needed to put Venezia under pressure. “When you have energy, you find the right combinations. Today, it wasn’t there.” He rejected the idea of blaming absent players, saying the team had to do better with those available.

The second half brought more individual technique and personality, Chivu said, and Inter eventually broke the deadlock. He nevertheless acknowledged that his side had been fortunate. The coach defended goalkeeper Aleksandar Stanković, who was replaced at the break, refusing to single him out and saying his display reflected the team’s broader first-half difficulties. “If I could have changed ten players at half-time, I would have done so, apart from the goalkeeper,” he said.

Davide Nicola, meanwhile, pointed to Venezia’s progress since his arrival, despite a defeat that did not reward what he considered a competitive performance. He felt his team had managed the match well and threatened on the counter-attack. To improve, Nicola said, Venezia needed to make better use of chances that could change a game. He also urged his players to stay focused through the disappointment and said he wanted to keep building with a group he had seen play with desire and passion.

Chivu praised Venezia’s organisation while acknowledging that Inter had not found the required intensity. The scoreline delivered the win, but his post-match assessment focused on the problems his side had shown before the late goals settled the contest.