Inter is a Volvo and Bale a Ferrari: Benitez

Inter Milan coach Rafael Benitez on Friday gave a novel explanation for why his team was torn apart by Gareth Bale; explaining that a Volvo cannot beat a Ferrari in a sprint.

The Welsh flyer tore Inter, and in particular right-back Maicon, to shreds in the Champions League as Tottenham beat the reigning champions 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

Inter president Massimo Moratti on Thursday criticised his team’s commitment and character in that game and said they could have played Bale better.

But Benitez defended the lack of defensive cover from his own wingers and said there was nothing they could do against a player who was simply too fast.

“We’ve played many times against Bale and we know that he’s fast and difficult to mark,” he said.

“It’s not a question of coverage, the problem was that we were losing and we needed to attack, so when we lost the ball Bale had space and was faster, it was difficult to contain him.

“If you have a Ferrari and I have a Volvo, you will beat me in a sprint. A Volvo is a good car, but a Ferrari is faster.

“It’s not a question of cover. Coutinho and (Jonathan) Biabiany have worked hard to improve their defensive skills and I’m happy with them, but they remain attacking players.”

As for his president’s criticisms, Benitez said they were fair but he also warned against getting carried away by one defeat.

Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brescia, Inter are second in Serie A – behind only surprise package Lazio who no-one expects to remain there in May – and second on goal difference to Tottenham in their Champions League group, hence in a position to qualify for the knock-out stages.

“This is a team that has character, we’ve always shown that away from home,” said the Spaniard.

“We can win and play well, much better than we did in the last game. Now is the time to show that character.

“In the Serie A table we’re above other teams that have spent more (in the last off season) so we’re doing well.

“If we win one game (out the two that remain) in the Champions League, we’ll progress.

“So it’s a good year with a team that won a lot last year and has a new coach this year.

“If we beat Brescia what will we talk about? We played badly against Tottenham but we played great against them in the home match.

“How did the other Italian teams in Europe do (on Thursday – none won)? You can’t call everything into question after one match, you have to analyse the situation as a whole.”

Benitez’s maths isn’t quite up to scratch, though, as Inter will only definitely qualify for the Champions League knock-out rounds if their one victory is against FC Twente.

If they beat Werder Bremen but lose to Twente, they could still miss out if Twente also beat Spurs, who themselves beat Werder.

However, his point is that they are still in a good position in both the league and Europe, while their rivals are not doing so well.

AC Milan are second in their group but face a battle to qualify with Auxerre and Ajax their next two opponents.

If they lose either, they may be knocked out.

And in the Europa League, none of Napoli, Juventus, Palermo and Sampdoria is in a qualification position in their groups.

Inter are ahead of all of those and Roma in the league.