Cristian Chivu Questions Inter Milan Squad After Heartbreaking Defeat In Champions League
Inter Milan's 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid has left Cristian Chivu questioning his squad.
Louis Fargher
Updated on 27 November 2025
Cristian Chivu has questioned his side’s mentality after Inter Milan suffered a heart-breaking defeat by Atletico Madrid in MD5 of the Champions League.
Inter Milan Suffer Late Heartbreak Against Atletico Madrid
Inter Milan’s perfect start in Europe came to a crushing end on November 26th, as the Nerazzurri were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium.
The hosts took the lead after just nine minutes through Julian Alvarez, as the Argentine scored his third goal in Europe – before Piotr Zielinski found an equalizer 10-minutes into the second half.
Chivu’s side appeared to be on their way to a well-earned point in the Spanish capital, but disaster struck in the 93rd minute as Jose Maria Gimenez latched on to an Antoine Griezmann corner and secured all-three points for Diego Simeone’s men.
This result has seen Inter drop to fourth in the Champions League table, while also bringing consecutive defeats following the disappointing display against AC Milan.
During the build-up to the match, Cristian Chivu had been put in a precarious position, as Simeone revealed his ambitions to manage Inter Milan in the future.
The Romanian has seen his side lose five matches across all competitions this season and a lot has been made of the Nerazzurri’s performances against tougher competition.
Cristian Chivu Questions Inter Milan Mentality In Big Games
Inter secured maximum points during their opening four Champions League encounters, beating Ajax, Slavia Prague, Union SG and Kairat Almaty – games where the Italian side were favorites.
This has been a similar trend in Inter’s Serie A campaign so far, beating the ‘lesser’ teams but failing to get the better of teams in and around the top four.
So far, Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli and Udinese have all earned victories over the Nerazzurri and this recent defeat in Madrid has left Chivu questioning Inter’s mindset in these matches.
Chivu said: “This team must know how to react, be aware that it is strong. It must understand the moments of the match, be more concrete, more clinical, not focus so much on pretty football.”
Moreover, Inter were the only Italian side to not pick up all-three points in MD5 of the Champions League, as Juventus secured a thrilling win over Bodo/Glimt, Napoli eased past Qarabag and Atalanta thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Inter Milan manager will be well-aware that a third consecutive defeat in Serie A could bring the club into an early crisis and weaken his position at the helm.
Chivu’s men travel to Pisa on November 30th and face a side that has only been victorious on one occasion in Serie A this season – meaning a defeat would be catastrophic.
Louis Fargher
Louis has been an avid soccer enthusiast for multiple years and boasts knowledge across several leagues in Europe - including Serie A. Louis holds a degree in Soccer Journalism and has produced content for multiple clubs in the United Kingdom.
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