Chivu demands Inter response after seeing 'great bitterness' against Atletico

Inter boss Cristian Chivu says he saw "great bitterness" in his players' eyes following their midweek Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

The Nerazzurri dropped their first points in the Champions League this season on Wednesday, as Jose Maria Gimenez's stoppage-time effort condemned them to a dramatic 2-1 loss at the Metropolitano.

It was a second disappointing result in as many games for Inter, who were also beaten 1-0 by rivals AC Milan at San Siro last weekend.

They must now look to recover when they go up against 17th-place Pisa in Serie A on Sunday.

"There is a lot of regret [over the Atletico defeat] because we didn't deserve to lose, but unfortunately, we came away with nothing," he said.

"I saw great bitterness in the players' eyes, but this is football, and we must react by doing anything to get out of this situation."

Chivu did, however, demand more urgency and a clinical edge from his team.

"Sometimes, if you wait for the ball to come to you, then you give the opponents time to get back into shape and reorganise," he added. "If we do this, we won't lose the ball centrally so easily and be vulnerable to the counter.

"We have to work better in front of goal, too, as I know it was the second consecutive defeat where we had good performances, but emerged empty-handed.

"We must be aware of what we need to do, roll our sleeves up, get grittier and do the dirty work when needed."

Inter sit fourth in Serie A, four points behind leaders Milan, and will be aiming to maintain the pressure at the top of the table in a congested title race.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Pisa – M'Bala Nzola

Nzola has scored three goals in 12 Serie A matches this season (all in away games), equalling his tally for the entire 2023-24 campaign (three in 33 games for Fiorentina).

Following his goal against Sassuolo last time out, he could score in consecutive Serie A appearances for the first time since the period between November 2022 and January 2023.

Inter – Lautaro Martinez

Martinez has failed to score in his last four Serie A appearances against sides in the bottom five at the start of the day, having netted 11 goals in his previous 12 such matches.

The Inter captain has attempted 18 shots in the first 30 minutes of games this season, the most of any player in the competition.

MATCH PREDICTION: INTER WIN

Inter have won each of their last five Serie A meetings with Pisa, albeit the most recent of those came back in March 1991.

The Nerazzurri have also won eight of their last nine league games against newly promoted sides, including victories over Sassuolo and Cremonese this season.

Inter have only conceded two goals against current bottom-half sides in Serie A this term, the joint-fewest of any team (level with Cremonese).

After recording two wins and three draws in their first five home Serie A matches against Inter, Pisa have lost their most recent two.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Pisa – 12.8%

Draw – 18.6%

Inter – 68.6%