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The Choke Bowl - Lazio vs Inter

2K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  Firdaus 
#1 ·
So, this is it boys and girls, the grand finale that we all wanted to avoid. Two teams who have been trying very hard not to make it to the CL will have to decide which one is better at choking. We all know that Lazio excels at that but Inter is a strong contender too.

Parolo and Immobile might return which would be huge. Caicedo is simply not a goalscorer and Murgia is too raw. The defense will be the usual mess, most likely, so playing for a draw will be suicidal, IMO. Luis Alberto will be missed an awful lot but you never know if Felipe might not have a monster game. We need our stars to shine but I hope we won't resort to hoofing the ball to SMS as our main attacking move, the guy is amazing at controlling long balls but we need more variety in attack.

FORZA LAZIO!
 
#2 ·
Inzaghi says Ciro will start, hopefully this is not a desperate gamble and he is really fit to play.
 
#4 ·
I have total faith in Inter pulling this off. We have way more experience than Lazio when it comes to being in choking situations. We even had a dress rehearsal against Juve.

Just watch us score the leading goal in the 85th minute, Ranocchia will come on in the 89th only to score an own goal in the 91st. We'll then receive a penalty in the 93rd which Candreva (Icardi subbed off in the 90th minute for time wasting purposes) will blast into row Z.
 
#6 ·
We have way more experience than Lazio when it comes to being in choking situations.
This is so not true. Our chokes are just lower profile ones.
 
#7 ·
I wouldn't be too annoyed if we lose/draw tbh.

EL's cool.
 

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#17 ·
Salzburg all over again, everything was going well and then once more a period of total panic. Inzaghi as much to blame as anyone for those crazy subs.

There were so many opportunities to secure the CL spot, but this team just doesn't have the mental strength.

This really was heartbreaking. This crappy Inter team deserves absolutely nothing. But we found a way to lose to them and that leaves nothing to say.
 
#18 ·
I told you which team is the undisputed choking champion. My only regret is I only bet I few bucks on Inter win, it was bound to happen.

I hope de vrij suffers a career ending injury in his first game for Inter. And Lulic, no wonder he is a captain, he chokes with the best of them.

I feel bad for Ciro, SMS and Luis Alberto, they deserve to play in the CL but they will, for other clubs.

As for me, I officially no longer support this circus. I am free!
 
#19 ·
I'm sorry man. We never deserved anything from this game, Lazio completely embarrassed Inter for most of the game. Unfortunately a couple of stupid decisions from De Vrij and Lulic gave us the win despite Spalletti and co doing their best to choke it away.
 
#20 ·
You're locked in for life @Anomander Rake.

Until the comeback, Lazio made it clear that they were the right team to enter the CL. Then came the madness, and worst of all, the total lack of belief in getting another goal. You had players crying on the bench and your players on the pitch were on another planet with 10 or so minutes left to go.

Don't get me wrong though; Inter has mentality problems too and is much more suited for the EL than CL. Lazio deserves the CL more than Inter, of course. But that lack of belief from your team is very disturbing.
 
#22 ·
That's what happened at Salzburg, as well. This team plays good football and has some truly quality players. But there's a problem with mentality. Or to be more precise, a problem with tactics and mentality. The way Inzaghi has the team play demands a lot of focus and we become extremely vulnerable when that focus is lost.

Let's see what happens in the summer now. The CL money would have been welcome, but most probably the big decisions would not have depended on the CL place. SMS will be sold if there's a big enough offer. Immobile, Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson would probably all have stayed anyway.

Milinkovic-Savic is such a great player and that should be obvious to everyone. Perhaps the player with the best touch in the whole Serie A, and at the same time one of the best in the air. Add a wonderful football sense to that and you get a truly a unique combination. If he's sold, we cannot hope for a replacement that is anywhere near as good. The same thing with De Vrij, whoever we get in his place won't be as good, that much is for sure.

But that doesn't mean we're necessarily a worse team next season. Inzaghi is still a young coach and this season must have been a huge learning process for him. If we can make the right signings and tweak the tactics to build a more solid defence, this team can be very hard to beat next season. An experienced, physically dominant defender to take De Vrij's place might actually be a better fit in terms of the three-man defence. Someone with more pace than SMS might give us better coverage in the midfield.

This season was a huge missed opportunity and left an awfully bitter taste in the mouth. But let's not forget that it could only be that because the team was very good. It was a big step away from mediocrity and there are many positive things to build on.
 
#23 ·
Nice post. Definitely agree about SMS; he's big time. I don't understand the recent disdain for Inzaghi. He seems to be on the right track in general. As you said, there's a very promising base of players and with a few good pieces to the puzzle, this would be an extremely dangerous team for anyone to face. I personally hope you retain your best players to turn this into something special.
 
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