Inter Milan's combination of defensive shortcomings and lack of personality got just about what they deserved in their 2-0 defeat by Manchester United in their Wednesday Champions League quarter-final tie, according to yesterday's Italian sports press. Even though the Inter players argued that they had had a perfectly good goal disallowed and that they had been unlucky not to score in a hectic final quarter of an hour, many Italian critics suggested that Inter had laid the foundations for their own downfall, especially through sloppy defending:

"If you took the final quarter of an hour out of the overall context, then you could argue that Inter were hard done by. On the other hand, if you recall the periods when the English side dictated matters with a sumptuous, athletically awesome soccer that threatened to overwhelm their harmless but plucky little rivals, then you have to accept this 2-0 defeat is a bad result, but not one that cannot be overturned," commented sports daily Gazzetta Dello Sportin a front page leader.

"Sure, Inter can complain about the referee and about bad luck but it is precisely that blistering final quarter of an hour which provides an extra reason to criticise them since they allowed themselves be overwhelmed for too long before that," wrote Rome daily La Republica.

Many commentators were critical of Inter's defensive lapses, pointing an accusatory finger at both Dutch midfielder Aron Winter and central defender Fabio Galante. Winter was adjudged to have largely failed to contain David Beckham on the Manchester right flank while Galante was considered to have got both his positioning and timing wrong while marking Dwight Yorke on the occasion of both goals.

Inter's Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu also came in for heavy criticism since commentators felt he ought to have taken more serious measures to contain the all too obvious threat posed both by Beckham and Ryan Giggs on the flanks and by United's aerial power.

"If Inter return from England with the heavy burden of two goals conceded and none scored, they cannot just blame it all on bad luck. . . nor on the hostile atmosphere of Old Trafford. . . nor even on the individual errors of Winter and Galante. The problem, at least for the entire first half, was the team picked by coach Lucescu," sanctioned Milan daily Corriere Della Sera.

Inevitably, German referee Helmut Krug came in for much critical analysis especially in relation to the disallowed second-half goal scored by Argentine midfielder Diego Simeone and also to a possible late penalty not awarded to substitute striker Nicola Ventola.

"Simeone's goal was disallowed because behind him Fabio Galante had his hands on Henning Berg's shoulders, forcing him to fall - given that both players were pushing one another, this seemed a harsh decision. . . Later, despite being held by Jaap Stam, Ventola managed to get his shot in, but it went wide. The referee could have opted to overrule the original advantage played, award a penalty and send off Stam. Such finesse escaped him," commented Gazzetta Dello Sport.

With a view to the return leg at the San Siro in a fortnight's time, all commentators suggest that Inter can only live in hope, acknowledging that the failure to score an away goal could weigh heavily.

"For the Inter of the last 25 minutes, there remains perhaps a little flicker of hope. Namely, that the Manchester United seen at Old Trafford is clearly far from watertight in defence, if attacked in the right way," commented La Repubblica.

Gazzetta Dello Sport was somewhat more philosophical: "For the rest, we'll hope for another Inter like that of the final minutes. You never know. Life and the cup go on".