After having watched his Inter defeat Chievo away at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi in the Serie A thanks to a goal each from Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic, Nerazzurri coach Luciano Spalletti stopped by Premium Sport to share his thoughts on the win.
Maybe it was not only thanks to Perisic and Icardi that Inter won today? Were you nervous during the final minutes?
“Mauro and Ivan are important to the team, but when the team brings the ball to the opponents goal line it is not that hard putting the ball into the net. Compliments to the guys who brought it there. Then of course Mauro is a strong player and he and Ivan have brought us to where we are today in the standings. But it is the completeness of the squad that is fundamental and that helps us to score. During the final minutes we were in a lot of trouble.”
Is it possible that the last game of the season against Lazio could be decisive?
“I do not know, I know that there are other important games ahead of us. It could be that one team gets six out of six points in the following two games and the other team only gets one point and is out of the race. The team says that they have what it takes to take us to the finish line but of course there are areas where we can improve.”
What result do you want to see tonight between Juventus and Napoli?
“I will enjoy the match. I like to see the enthusiasm of the Napoli fans and the more that happens the more beautiful the football is. To see fans of Juventus, Roma and Napoli supporting their teams is what you want.”
Will the next three games be won? Are you worried about the schedule?
“Almost every game is difficult. You see results when you have total quality and strength, without this it is difficult to win. This is what we have to have in the next matches, it will not be easy but mentally we have to feel that we are able to.”
Rafinha was good today, can he grow even more?
“He did a great job today in making the team move up on the pitch and taking defensive responsibility. Together with Brozovic, who had another great performance, they helped us a lot.”
What does Inter need in order to close the gap to Juventus and Napoli?
“We have startet building this team last year. There is always room for improvement, but we have shown that there is a great potential. It is unfair to the players to start questioning our choices, they have proven to be great professionals with a common goal in mind. The analysis of the months we have played gives us the result with which we can fight to the end.”