Inter surpassed AC Milan in the Serie A standings after beating the Rossoneri 3-2 in a dramatic match at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district.
After the match Inter coach Luciano Spalletti turned up at the official post match press conference to give his thoughts on the match.
An hour of perfect football, then you showed heart and determination in order to win, was this a turning point?
“The players interpreted everything very well, not letting them be intimidated by everything that has happened these past days. You have to behave like a true professional, correctly analyzing everything. You need time to analyze what was good and what was bad, after midnight you bring what you have learned to the next game. But it’s important not to bring everything with you, that’s too much stuff and it clouds your mind. The players behaved like players with quality and now I will always expect it. This is the kind of test that proves what you’ve got. That’s mental work and therefore I give my compliments to the players for winning a great derby. It was also good to see so many people in the stands, having fun, this is the right spirit and the city of Milano must be proud.”
We all could see a great attitude by Inter, do you agree?
“Sometimes things go wrong and it feels tough to pay the price for it. But then the attitude must be the right one, the roles are fundamental. Against Frankfurt there were players that wanted to do three roles well, but didn’t even manage to do their own thing well. We are 11 strong players, then next to you you have a player who has to do well otherwise things get confusing. We kept our distances at a good level and managed to block them in the area where they are most threatening. Gattuso thought this one through really well and it was a tough game because AC Milan has so many options.”
The game got off to a good start for you guys, on Thursday you complained about an approach that was wrong?
“It could have started even better if Vecino wouldn’t have put that second finish over the crossbar. But you are right, this game, we started with a lot of character when it came to get control of the midfield. I say 2-3 things that other coaches would say: the difference is made by the quality of the players. In these last couple of days we had to joke in order to analyze what had happened, then we had to find things that will make the players believe in themselves again and what they are capable of. I showed them the first derby from this past Autumn and there were only three different players compared to tonight: Icardi, Nainggolan and Vrsaljko. So the team had the potential to replay that game.”
Your comment on the red card turning into a yellow one? And what happened to you?
“Sometimes you don’t have a clear view from the bench, but to me that looked like a challenge involving a raised leg, then it’s a good thing that they go and control via the TV images, I was probably wrong. I was a marked man and was sent away in advance.”
Three tough days?
“I said I would bring the derby to the Duomo as they do in Florence: there you play it in costume. Then I went for my Last Supper, this had to be my last derby. If Nainggolan was in the dressing room celebrating? There were a lot of people in the dressing room wanting to share the joy.”
