Inter Milan Primavera seek redemption in Youth League

Inter Milan Primavera coach Stefano Vecchi was a bit despondent following the team’s 2-1 loss to Chievo Verona in Campionato Nazionale Primavera Friday.

A goal from Andrea Adorante was not enough to overcome a penalty shot from Danieli at the beginning of the second half and a winner from Andrea Isufaj later in the half.

The loss put Inter two points back of league-leading Atalanta — whom the Nerazzurri have been battling back and forth against all season.

Photo by Marco Luzzani - Inter/Inter via Getty Images

But, Vecchi’s squad have very little time to be despondent as they take on Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday. The go into the Youth League matchup on a two-game losing streak after winning the SuperCoppa.

“We’ve earned less than we deserved in the last two matches,” Vecchi told Inter TV. “As a minimum, mistakes will be punished and up front we’ve not been finishing the chances that we have created.”

So far this season, Inter has spread the wealth in terms of goals scored. Nicoló Zaniolo leads the team with eight goals on the season, but Jens Odgaard and Mateo Rover each have five and Facundo Colidio has four goals this season. At least 11 different players have scored this season for the Primavera.

In their last four games, Inter has managed seven goals — including three in a win over Udinese and two in a win against Bologna.

But Vecchi is more concerned with something even the senior squad seems to have issues with — making mistakes and turning the ball over.

“We need to commit fewer mistakes both in defense and attack, we need to be better in defending and creating chances. Obviously, we need to take chances,” Vecchi said.

What’s at stake for Inter? Knocking out Spartak Moscow moves Inter into the knockout phase of the tournament where they will face one of eight group winner: Barcelona, FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, FC Porto or Tottenham Hotspur.

Notice Inter’s Primavera is the only Italian team left in the tournament. Roma finished third in Group C while Juventus was fourth in Group D and Napoli was fourth in Group F.

“We’ve already played in important games, we can’t make mistakes on Tuesday against Spartak Moscow,” Vecchi said. “Today, we played a very good first half but we were naive in the second half, we conceded and fell apart. We conceded two goals from serious mistakes, we need to be more ruthless. I hope that we’ll see something different against Spartak.”

After the playoff tie with Spartak, Inter will return to league play and take on rivals Atalanta in Milan on Feb. 11.

Other youth results:

Inter U17 1, AC Milan U17 0

Inter U16 1, AC Milan U16 1

Inter U15 2, AC Milan U15 1

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