Marcello Lippi has shared his views on whether he thinks the match between Inter and Juventus this weekend will prove decisive for the Serie A title race.
“It is a direct confrontation between two rivals, but it comes very soon and I think that in all the cases it will not be decisive. It will be a fight between Juventus, Inter and Napoli until the end for the Scudetto,” he said in an interview with Tuttosport
“Of course, for Inter, who have not been so competitive for years, winning and extending the gap to five points on Juventus would be an incredible injection of confidence.”
He was then asked what one thing he would do if he was in charge of either side on Sunday.
“It is not a match to try things out in. Smaller teams can study some tricks when they face the big teams but two top clubs like Juventus and Inter must simply express themselves to the maximum.
“They both have extreme quality.The defeat to Barcelona will not have negative repercussions on the Nerazzurri because for long stretches they played a great game at the Camp Nou “.
He then went on to sing the praises of Antonio Conte, who will be facing his former employers for the first time as Inter boss.
“Antonio is very good and quick to get into the head of the people he works with. He was also like that at Chelsea, in the national team and at Juventus. Together with the leaders of Inter he built a team with an important unity of purpose which is a fundamental aspect.
“When I was at Inter and I challenged Juventus after the many wins when I was with them, I experienced a particular atmosphere towards me but when the game starts you are only focused on that. The difference between our two experiences is that I went directly from Juve to Inter, while Antonio arrived in Milan after being elsewhere.”
He then spoke on the fact Inter have more Italians playing for them now than Juventus do.
“Juventus has had an Italian backbone for many years and this year it simply has more foreigners on the field. Compliments must be paid to Inter, they were clever to sign some Italians. Sensi and Barella have been great.”