Inter sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia with a 6-2 win over Benevento, but they did so in front of a closed Stadio Meazza.
As punishment for the racist abuse aimed at Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, the Nerazzurri fans were forced to stay away, though some away supporters were allowed to attend and Luciano Spalletti admitted that there is a danger when playing in an empty stadium.
“We don’t like having to play behind closed doors,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“There is a risk that the level, both individual and collective, will drop.
“It happens when there are what are seen as easier matches, but also on a more complicated level because you miss the push from the fans.
“We don’t want to have to play in this way, we want to find other solutions but we have to behave well.”
Spalletti experimented with a 4-4-2 and chose both Mauro Icardi and Lautaro Martinez in attack, but he wasn’t entirely pleased by their performance as a pair.
“They could have done more in the first half,” he added.
“From a tactical point of view and sometimes they made the wrong decisions.”
Despite the scoreline, Benevento weren’t all bad and Spalletti took the time to praise the Serie B promotion hopefuls.
“We have to congratulate Benevento.
“They played until the very end and they deserved their two goals.”
