Inter Milan slump puts season at risk ahead of daunting Barca trip

MILAN – Inter Milan head into the Champions League semi-finals at risk of finishing the season empty-handed, after a late-season slump killed their treble hopes and has left them wondering where the next win will come from.

A daunting first-leg clash at Barcelona on April 30 could hardly have come at a worst time for Inter who, since reaching the last four, have lost three games on the bounce without scoring a goal.

Two league defeats handed Napoli a three-point lead at the top of Serie A with four matches remaining while Inter are out of the Italian Cup after a dismal 3-0 derby loss at the hands of AC Milan last week.

Simone Inzaghi’s team look tired and bereft of ideas up front.

Their weekend 1-0 home loss to Roma was played in front of a soporific San Siro crowd which could not have been more different to the raucous atmosphere that accompanied their result against Bayern Munich in the Champions League a fortnight ago.

“Largely because we lacked sharpness,” admitted Inzaghi.

“Maybe a positive result would have given us more energy, but we need to find that from within ourselves. We’ve got to recharge our batteries, both mentally and physically.”

The last time Inter lost three in a row without scoring was in 2012 during Claudio Ranieri’s ill-fated spell.

Barca were Inter’s semi-final opponents in 2010 when, under Jose Mourinho, the eventual treble winners nearly threw away the Serie A title to Roma before triumphing on the final day of the season.

Inzaghi will still hope that his team can win the Serie A, but his immediate focus is on the Champions League.

Inter will also have one day less rest after having their match with Roma moved back to April 27 so that it did not clash with Pope Francis’ funeral, giving France defender Benjamin Pavard less time to recover from an ankle sprain picked up at the weekend.

Barca are on a high after beating Real Madrid to win the Cope del Rey on April 26 as their old enemies had a petulant meltdown in the face of a third straight Clasico defeat.

“We’re not scared, the best thing is to be in April and have something to play for. We have a chance to achieve something extraordinary and we’re not afraid. This team has already won a lot and is always focused,” said Inter wing-back Carlos Augusto.

Inzaghi will be hoping striker Marcus Thuram will be available as his replacements have done nothing alongside Lautaro Martinez, who has looked exhausted and frustrated.

Captain Martinez has been key to Inter’s run to the semi-finals with goals which first sealed their place in the top eight of the league phase and then dragged his team to the last four.

The 27-year-old has scored seven times in five Champions League matches since the turn of the year.

He netted home and away against Bayern and was in great form during the draw with Bundesliga champions-in-waiting two weeks ago, when Inter sealed a 4-3 aggregate victory.

But now the team are scrambling to salvage something from what had looked like a dream season but is rapidly turning into a nightmare. AFP