"It's clear that Tottenham had the advantage in terms of physique and speed, which made us suffer from their quick counter-attacks every time we lost possession. We should have done better in one-on-one defense against Bale, but we didn't achieve that tonight, leading to our loss." Benitez believed that the home atmosphere at Tottenham was also one of the factors for their victory. "You can truly feel the atmosphere here; Tottenham fans are highly focused on the Champions League matches, which affects the players' mentality."
After losing 1-3 to Tottenham, Inter Milan coach Benitez admitted that the team still has shortcomings. He believed that Tottenham's physicality and speed posed threats to Inter Milan. Regarding Maicon's poor performance in this match, the Spaniard defended him, stating that it wasn't just his fault, as there were issues with the entire defense.
In this game, Maicon was completely outplayed by Bale, who repeatedly broke through the Brazilian defender's defenses. Benitez defended his disciple, believing he shouldn't bear all the blame. "Indeed, Bale had too much offensive space in tonight's match, and we couldn't stop his runs. People will direct a lot of criticism towards Maicon, and perhaps there were some defensive issues tonight, but he still performed well offensively."
In this match, Inter Milan was missing several players, including Julio Cesar, Motta, Stankovic, and Cambiasso, and Montari's injury forced Benitez to field the young Enwankwo. "We knew Montari was injured before the game, but he wanted to play, and we had no other choice. Young players like Coutinho and Enwankwo performed decently. For them, being able to handle such a match isn't easy."
"Our midfield is lacking key players like Cambiasso, Motta, and Stankovic. We need to find solutions to their absence. What did I say to the players? There's nothing much to say; they know they didn't perform well. Now we prepare for the next match."
Benitez added, "The Champions League situation still depends on us. If we win the next match, we advance. If we don't meet our goals, we'll see what happens."