Luciano Spalletti Rues 'Frantic' First Half Display as Inter Bow Out of Coppa Italia

Inter manager Luciano Spalletti says his side lacked composure following their Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat to Lazio on Thursday evening. Lucas Leiva's

Inter manager Luciano Spalletti says his side lacked composure following their Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat to Lazio on Thursday evening. 

Lucas Leiva's successful spot-kick dumped the seven-time winners out of the competition on penalties, extending their run without silverware to eight years.

Lazio qualify for the #CoppaItalia semi-final, winning 4-3 on penalties after it finished 1-1 after 120 minutes. #InterLazio pic.twitter.com/E2Pjdlc5Xi

— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) January 31, 2019

Mauro Icardi equalised for the hosts following Ciro Immobile's opener in extra time, but the Nerazzurri failed to score again in 90 minutes, leaving Spalletti to bemoan his side's wasteful display.

"At the start, our play was awkward, we got lost when things were frantic and you can’t do that against sides like Lazio," Spalletti said, speaking post match via Inter'sofficial website. 

"Then, when the match came to life, it was balanced but we lacked the composure to move the ball around. There were lots of chances to score, at both ends. It was totally balanced and in the end, Lazio deserved to make the semi-final in the shootout."

Marco Rosi/GettyImages

A victory would have seen the decorated outfit face rivals AC Milan in the last four, who had beaten fellow Serie A outfit Napoli 48 hours before at the Guiseppe Meazza. 

On a frustrating night, they had a number of chances in the second half of regular time, with Matteo Politano and substitute Lautaro Martinez both missing golden opportunities, before the latter was one of two players to spurn his penalty in the shoot-out.

Whilst Spalletti reflected on their latest setback, he also admitted that it had been a mentally challenging period, after recently watching his side cut further adrift of league leaders Juventus in Serie A.

#SpalettiOut

— Shahadat Hossain (@Fideo_SH) February 1, 2019

He added: "It always hurts when you lose games at the end like that. At this level, the mental side counts more than anything. 

"The emotional side can take over even if you work well in the week."