After his usual interview tour Luciano Spalletti settled in the press room at San Siro for the post match press conference, this is what he had to say about tonight’s match.

Fourth win in a row and back to the final 16 in the Europa League. What can you tell us from tonight’s game?

“We were not that organised in our pressing but we did a lot better in comparison to what we did in the first match,” he said.

“A week ago they suffered against us and they started this match a bit slower and played a bit more freely in the second half.

“For us there was the problem to face that, instead we entered the game very concentrated and productive. We set everything on the right track, then we gave them too much space without challenging for everything, but we were good in being compact with our two midfielders.

“In the second half we managed to play very well defensively.”

What team would you like to face in the next round?

“There are a number of strong teams, teams that we are aware about. If we could avoid them that would be better.”

Teams that are still in the Europa League have lost points in their respective leagues, is squad depth getting more and more important now?

“I could have subbed Perisic and Nainggolan [in order to rest them]. It is hard to get back in a moment when you have some injuries. That is why tomorrow gives us the chance to do something. The day after tomorrow we will feel tired and then we have a game against a tough opponent that currently is having a good run in Fiorentina. To have 20 players at our disposal would make everything easier.”

Everything worked tonight, is that because Inter is a better team than Rapid?

“I think that tonight, this is what made the difference, although the difference wasn’t that big. We have to manage to profit from our character because sometimes our performance is lower than it should be. We have to work in the most profound way possible, because only then we can be attentive and manager of our own decisions. We have the quality and the possibility to face any great team. It is on a long run that we are having trouble maintaining this physical and technical conviction.”

Tonight we saw Politano come on as a striker…

“We have two or three solutions. The right one is the one with Keita, he is an attacker that creates space and attacks. Then we have both Perisic and Politano who can play in that role too.