"We were lucky to come away with the win today," Cristian Chivu said after Inter beat Venezia 2-0 away on Wednesday. The goals came from two own goals by Venezia players, and Chivu did not try to dress it up. He said his team lacked energy, moved the ball too slowly and would have been better off with a heavier half-time shake-up.
Inter's performance in Chivu's own words
The coach's irritation was obvious in the details he gave after Venezia vs Inter. "We lacked energy and were slow in certain aspects," he said, adding that Inter were "a little surprised by their low block." He also said, "We moved the ball slowly, but that can happen when you play every three days."
Chivu went further when asked about the interval. "I would have liked to replace everyone," he said. "I’m referring to a few players I had to sacrifice at half-time today to shake things up."
The result still keeps Inter in control
The win leaves Inter with 25 points from their opening nine league games, and they are top of Serie A, level with Lazio. The record is still strong, with eight wins and one draw, but Chivu wants more than just results. "We can and must improve," he said.
Carlos Augusto was one of the players used to help that result along. Chivu started Carlos Augusto at left back to cope with Venezia's pace, and he also said the defender is useful in the back three or as a wing-back. Inter's next major league fixture is the Milan derby away to AC Milan on 2026-10-31, which is a lot sooner than Chivu would probably have liked after a flat night in Venice.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
