The Nerazzurri coach enjoyed the success and the early qualification but emphasizes: ‘Two more games are still missing.’
Simone Inzaghi and Inter secure a spot in the Champions League round of 16 with 2 games to spare, thanks to their victory over Salzburg. This allows the Nerazzurri to look ahead to the upcoming matches with more ease and confidence.
Despite making several changes to the lineup, the coach managed to find his trump card on the bench, the ever-reliable Lautaro: “He is an extremely important player for us; he always brings a lot of enthusiasm. Clearly, qualifying two games ahead is a source of pride. It’s the third year in a row that we’ve reached the round of 16 with great merit. But there are 2 games are still missing.”
“I think the guys were excellent, regardless of who came in. Salzburg has physical qualities that are hard to come by, and it’s challenging to play against them. Towards the end, they eased off the pressure, and we developed our game better,” The coach assessed.
Regarding Lautaro, he added: “Tonight, he was on the bench and came in well, but Thuram and Sanchez also did well. I am very satisfied with those who started and those who came in because we were facing a team with impressive physical qualities. We knew the game would open up in the last 20-25 minutes. The substitutions helped us, but I wouldn’t forget the contributions of those who started.”
Inter is very clinical as of late? There is no easy Champions League games. In the first half, with Frattesi and Bastoni, we came close to take the lead, and then we suffered. Perhaps we conceded more at San Siro than here,” Inzaghi stated to Prime Video.
In the press conference, he added: “It’s the best start in my three years here. Time will tell if it’s the best season. We know we will all have to fight together; playing so much, some players will be left behind. We hope to recover Cuadrado as soon as possible because it was risky to play Dumfries tonight, and we had limitations on the right.”
“Asllani came on very well, and he has been doing so consistently lately. I wanted to give him some playing time. He’s growing with each game; tonight was just another example, like the game in Bergamo or the first leg.
Today, even though we’ve seen that De Vrij can perform well in certain games as the third center-back, I chose to start with Bisseck because he has shown growth and confidence in these two months. I had no issues starting him. He would have never been subbed off without the yellow card,” the coach said in the press room.
