Inzaghi admits Inter's injuries are now a crisis
Simone Inzaghi has never faced a similar defensive injury crisis in his career ahead of Inter Milan's UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg clash with Feyenoord.
Inter, which is one point clear at the Serie A summit after a 1-1 draw with second-placed Napoli last weekend, has been crippled by issues in the full-back spot.
Federico Dimarco, Nicola Zalewski, Carlos Augusto and Matteo Darmian are all out with respective injuries, while goalkeeper Yann Sommer also remains sidelined.
Yet Inzaghi is confident that his team can rise to the challenge and cope with its demanding schedule that sees it play four games before the international break.
"We know we're in a bit of trouble in a very specific part of the pitch. But the principles of the game don't change, we're here to play in the round of 16, and we'll do our best," Inzaghi said.
"We don't think, we play, knowing that we are in a big emergency. It had never happened to me since I've been coaching, because I have five fullbacks and all four who can play on the left have been injured.
"We know what work we've done to get here, but this is football and this is the calendar we have to face. We move forward with great confidence.
"It's a two-legged tie, but the lads know that the first leg is very important for us to go through. We have some small problems to solve, but I've seen great willingness from all the lads."
But Inzaghi has reason to be confident against Feyenoord, with Inter unbeaten across its past 11 games against Dutch sides in European competition since a 1-0 defeat to this week's opponent back in April 2002.
It has also only lost three of its past 23 matches in the UEFA Champions League, and has only conceded more than one goal on three occasions in this run – 12 conceded in 23 games overall.
Inzaghi, however, expects an intense match against Feyenoord, which has already stunned European giant Bayern Munich and Inter's rival AC Milan in the competition this season.
"They're a physical team with great quality. We know that it's not an easy place to play at home. I played there in 2000 with Lazio. I haven't been there as a coach yet, but I know it's a heated environment," Inzaghi said.
"They had already done great things in the Champions League, Bayern lost, Milan went out. We know there will be a return leg, but we have to think about tomorrow, with a few absences as there are in all teams."
This will be just the third meeting between the two teams in major European competition, with Feyenoord winning 3-2 on aggregate in the pair's prior UEFA Cup semi-final tie during the 2001-2002 season.
