After an easy win against Rapid Vienna, Inter have reached the last 16 in the Europa League and Inter manager Luciano Spalletti shared his thoughts on the victory post-match, firstly discussing the performance of Andrea Ranocchia.
“With him you can always be confident,” Spalletti told Sky Sport.
“He said that we could expect a goal from him, but I did not expect a goal like that from outside the box.”
He was then asked on the improvements that Inter have made.
“It is correct that Inter is improving and that the team is less error prone than before. It is not correct to suggest that this is something that has happened due to recent events.
“We have to give the team the credit for what has actually happened, the team works hard and commits fewer errors.
“At this moment we need to talk about those who are actually playing.
“You need to support the players that are on the pitch, the ones that run and take the hits, without losing sight of what is happening.”
Spalletti then went on to reveal that he is aware that there is still work to be done.
“We are still trying to find that level that we have to be at normally, but instead, in certain moments, we fail to do that and perform below our capability.
“It seems like a difficult task to put all these things together that I’m talking about. This situation has to be resolved as soon as possible, last season we managed to do that in periods.
“It seems that our characteristics are having trouble supporting us for longer paths. During games, you have to add even more that you are used to and if an individual cannot manage that it is important to contribute to the team.”
Next he spoke on the importance of having an experienced team who can play seriously when required.
He was then asked what he thinks is missing.
“Keep in mind that Vecino and Brozovic covered a lot of ground, which makes it easier for the defence. We could have better quality in the final third where we could be more decisive on who marks the player that is attacking our defensive line.
“We can do better in the middle but since we went straight forward this evening, the team managed to not lose any balance. Then we all did better in the second half.”
Next he was asked if Mauro Icardi went to celebrate with his teammates after the victory.
“I don’t know, I went straight to interviews. But the team celebrated, everyone was very happy with the win.”
Spalletti was then asked if he had any preference for who he would like to draw next round.
“There are 4-5 teams that are very strong and if we could face a weaker team that would be better. But we have to pass from this next round and some teams we will face anyways.”
