Inter Milan manager Rafa Benitez claims his side were undone by the Ferrari-like pace of Gareth Bale.
Nerazzurri boss defends tactics against Spurs
Inter Milan manager Rafa Benitez claims his side were undone by the Ferrari-like pace of Gareth Bale in midweek.
The Tottenham left-back produced a brilliant display as Spurs romped to a 3-1 victory over the European champions at White Hart Lane.
Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti has since criticised Inter's performance and claimed they could have done more to stop the threat of Bale down the left.
However, former Liverpool boss Benitez has defended his tactics and gave a novel explanation of his team's inability to cope with the Welsh wideman.
"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. (Philippe) Coutinho and (Jonathan) Biabiany have worked hard to improve their defensive skills and I'm happy with them, but they remain attacking players."
Character
One criticism from Moratti was that Inter lacked character on Tuesday night in North London but Benitez refutes this claim.
"This is a team that has character, we've always shown that away from home," he added.
"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 of 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."
