Alessandro Bastoni’s latest red card did not prevent Inter from taking the Champions League result they badly needed against Shakhtar, but it reopened a difficult theme around one of the club’s senior defenders. His dismissal came after an otherwise assured display, leaving Cristian Chivu to praise the team’s response while warning that composure cannot be surrendered in decisive matches.
Inter found greater urgency after being reduced to 10 men and beat the Ukrainian side, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16, whether directly or through the play-offs. Bastoni will now miss the trip to Rotterdam to face Feyenoord, a forced pause after another episode in a troubled year.
Quick facts
- Bastoni was sent off against Shakhtar after two yellow cards in only a few minutes.
- The first booking was for dissent; the second followed an unnecessary off-the-ball shove.
- Inter won despite the dismissal, reviving their last-16 ambitions in Europe.
- Chivu said the side had to work harder and assume greater responsibility after the red card.
- Bastoni is suspended for Inter’s away match against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
The sending-off was particularly frustrating because Bastoni had performed well before losing control. Chivu had used him centrally in a three-man defensive line, between Manuel Akanji and Carlos Augusto, and the defender brought concentration, authority and security to the role.
Only after shifting back towards his familiar left-sided position did the match turn. An exchange with opponents, including the sort of provocation and physical contact that can escape both live officials and VAR, drew him into two avoidable actions. The second booking followed quickly after the first, making the dismissal feel like a lapse of discipline rather than a collapse in his football.
Chivu, who has consistently backed Bastoni, nonetheless made the point plainly after the game. He said Inter had needed to remain calm, avoid being wound up and manage frustrations that can damage a match. Once down to 10, he added, the players understood that they had to get their hands dirty.
The coach’s words matter because Bastoni’s recent difficulties have not been limited to one European night. In February, his simulation in Inter’s match with Juventus led to Pierre Kalulu being dismissed and prompted a prolonged debate. At the end of March, he was sent off for Italy in a match that contributed to another World Cup failure for the Azzurri.
That international night, on 31 March in Bosnia, remains a harsher reference point. Then Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso selected Bastoni as the central defender in a back three, a role similar to the one Chivu later tried against Shakhtar. The result in Zenica was disastrous, with Bastoni’s display at the heart of the defence ending in a wider national disappointment.
The Shakhtar match was different in substance. Bastoni had looked convincing in the central role and his removal was caused by impatience, not by an inability to organise the line. That distinction may encourage Chivu to revisit the experiment, provided the player can better manage the emotional side of high-pressure contests.
Bastoni has recently shown signs of recovering form, including improved performances for Italy. He had argued that one or two incidents should not be allowed to define an entire career, a reasonable defence of a player whose standing has been built over several strong seasons at Inter.
Yet the sequence of setbacks has been uncomfortable. Beyond the incidents on the pitch, Bastoni remains involved in a judicial investigation that emerged in June. The cumulative effect has made the past months unusually heavy for a defender normally valued for his calmness and decision-making.
Inter, however, turned an awkward moment against Shakhtar into a useful response. Chivu said the team rolled up its sleeves after Bastoni’s departure, ran more and raised the level of responsibility required by the occasion. The red card may even have sharpened a side that knew victory was essential.
Being a man down is rarely a benefit, but Inter used the anger of the moment as fuel rather than allowing it to become panic. The next European fixture will proceed without Bastoni, giving him time to reset. When he returns, Inter will need the decisive defender of previous seasons, not another chapter in a year he will be eager to leave behind.
