Worrying signs at Inter as Chivu and senior players echo same message after derby loss

ITALY - OCTOBER 31: Nicolo Barella of FC Internazionale is challenged by Strahinja Pavlovic and Koni De Winter of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 31, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Cristian Chivu, Nicolò Barella and Alessandro Bastoni all echoed the same message after Inter’s 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, raising further concerns about the team’s mentality.

Inter lost their first Serie A game of the season on Saturday, losing 3-1 to city rivals Milan.

The Nerazzurri haven’t won a Milan derby since April 2024, when a win over their city rivals allowed them to mathematically clinch their 20th Scudetto.

Italian newspapers have strongly criticised Inter coach Chivu for his tactical decisions, but another source of concern for the Nerazzurri comes from post-match quotes from the boss and some of the team’s most experienced players, Barella and Bastoni.

“We had the wrong approach, then it wasn’t all a waste, because we scored for 2-1 and had the opportunity to draw level at 2-2 if not for that Maignan save. Then we gifted another goal just before half-time,” Chivu said at full time.

“It’s disappointing; we expected to do more than we did. We need to improve our approach and determination, which at times is lacking.”

Barella and Bastoni echoed the coach’s message: “We haven’t had the right attitude since the start of the season, and it’s a negative thing,” Barella said (via Gazzetta).

“Tiredness accumulates, and you pay for it. We must face ourselves; it’s a long road.”

Bastoni added: “We had the wrong approach all along. The only thing I want to say is that Inter must be deserved every day. It’s a general thing; I include everyone in this. I didn’t like the attitude at all; it was inadequate.”

Inter won the domestic double in 2025-26, lifting the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia, but in the current campaign they’ve looked way more vulnerable despite losing just one league game so far.

They have conceded 13 goals in ten matches, the most in the top ten after Frosinone (14), although Juve and Napoli have one fewer game than the Nerazzurri.

They have played 13 games across all competitions this season and conceded the opening goal on eight occasions.

Gazzetta wrote that Inter looks like a team that “is too caught up in its own reflection, holding on to a belief in its own abilities that is necessary but perhaps excessive, convinced that it can come back from behind every time.

“Until the derby, that approach had worked. But the clash with Milan has once again highlighted Inter’s shortcomings, particularly on the mental side, under Chivu.”