Inter demonstrated their champions’ mentality during tonight’s 3-1 win over Roma, according to assistant boss Cristian Stellini.
The Nerazzurri collected their 15th straight home victory in the league thanks to goals from Marcelo Brozovic, Matias Vecino and Romelu Lukaku.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan halved the deficit midway through the first half for Roma, but Paulo Fonseca’s side were unable to find an equaliser before Lukaku finished the job in the final minute.
“For us, it’s a question of mentality (to play like this) even when the game isn’t important,” Stellini, who stood in for Antonio Conte in his post-match duties, told Inter TV.
“You certainly play more relaxed when you’re champions of Italy, but we always expect to do well in these games.
“Even in a moment like this, when everyone is celebrating, it’s right to approach the games like we did tonight, in a combative manner.
“We went in front with two goals, then perhaps we lowered our guard but we did well to pick ourselves up again.
“It’s our 15th straight home win and that’s quite an achievement.”
Inter’s only disappointing note of the evening was Alexis Sanchez’s injury, with the Chilean forward suffering a suspected sprained ankle during the first half.
Stellini seemed optimistic the problem would not be serious, suggesting Sanchez could even recover in time for Saturday’s Derby d’Italia at Juventus.
“He took a hard blow to his ankle and decided to come off because he’d lost a bit of feeling,” Stellini explained.
“We think we can recover him for the next game.”
Inter remain 13 points clear of Atalanta and AC Milan at the top of the table after both sides won their midweek matches.