Thursday evening saw Inter dumped out of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt, and coach Luciano Spalletti came under heavy fire. “SPALLEXIT” read the headline on the following morning’s edition of Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport, and in truth this could end up becoming a caption with a double meaning.

“SPALLEXIT” writes @CorSport after a clueless display versus Eintracht Frankfurt that saw Inter eliminated from the Europa League pic.twitter.com/SIXnRvHAKQ

— Chloe Beresford (@ChloeJBeresford) March 15, 2019

The defeat—and indeed the inept display—couldn’t have been worse in terms of timing for the Nerazzurri, who face their cross-city rivals A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday. 

Reports suggest that the coach could even be fired if the team suffer another defeat in this all-important fixture, especially as it would put a dent in their hopes of finishing in the top four by the end of the campaign.

What’s for sure is that this is a team under huge pressure, and one that is currently steered by a man who seems incapable of turning things around. It seems like nothing less than a win versus Milan will be enough to prevent a SPALLEXIT at Inter.  

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.