On August 18, in the first round of Serie A, Inter Milan drew 2-2 with Genoa. Inter’s main defender Bastoni criticized the congested schedule, stating that it is very difficult for the team to recover energy.
Bastoni talked about the congested schedule: “Our players who participated in the European Cup and the Copa America this summer all faced physical and mental pressures. We must adapt to increasingly congested schedules, but a rest period of only 20 days is far from enough. Mentally, it’s very challenging to cope with so many matches, especially when the season seems to never end. But since we are on the field playing, we need to give it our all.”
Bastoni then briefly commented on this match: “This was a tough match. Genoa is very strong, they have many excellent players, and the fans at the scene were cheering for them with all their might. We just went through an incredibly successful season, but we could only draw with our opponents in this match.”