Paolo Di Canio fears that Inter Milan will be on the wrong end of a Champions League hiding if Mo Salah and Sadio Mane perform to their peak in Wednesday’s clash with Liverpool, speaking to Sky Italia.
What Inter’s defence has in strength, it lacks in speed.
Alessandro Bastoni is one of the most talented ball-playing defenders in Europe.
Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Federico Dimarco are playing the finest football of their careers at the San Siro.
But none of the aforementioned quartet are particularly renowned for their pace.
And should Salah or Mane find themselves one-against-one with Skriniar or Bastoni, Di Canio feels that there will only be one outcome.
“If Inter loses the balls they lost against Napoli against Liverpool, and get isolated against Salah and Mane, then bye bye. Goodbye. Let’s pray,” says the West Ham legend.
Di Canio highlights the problems Simone Inzaghi’s side faced during this weekend’s 1-1 draw with a Napoli side who, like Liverpool, rely upon skilful, speedy widemen in the final third.
“Bastoni and Skriniar are very strong. But one-on-one against those (Salah and Mane), bye bye.
“Liverpool are the worst opposition I could think of. Not only in terms of quality but also in terms of the principles and dynamism of the team.”
Will Liverpool cruise past Inter Milan?
The absence of Nicolo Barella, Inter’s most influential midfielder and the man who sets the tone with his irrepressible cocktail of tenacity and technique, also threatens to undermine Inter’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010/11.
“Inter have the strongest midfield in Italy in terms of quality,” Di Canio adds.
“(Hakan) Calhanoglu brought something different than (Christian) Eriksen, who was more of a metronome. But, without Barella, they lose a lot of physicality.”
Barella, likened to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard due to his penchant for grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck, could miss both legs of an intriguing round-of-16 tie.
The Euro 2020 winner suffered an ankle injury during Inter’s 2-0 Coppa Italia victory over Roma last week.
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