Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is happy with where the Nerazzurri are at after their first two Serie A matches, and believes that they are in a good position to have a strong season despite a summer of upheaval.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster DAZN after the Nerazzurri’s win over Hellas Verona this evening, as reported by FCInterNews, the Italian tactician gave his views on the state of the team and their performances so far.
On the match tonight, the former Lazio boss felt that the Nerazzurri had to suffer and were not at their best, but that in the end they showed their quality both in terms of their mental strength and in terms of some of the individuals in the team.
“I think the team had a good approach in the first quarter of an hour,” he said, “Then we conceded the goal and we suffered a blow, we made a mistake in a few choices.”
He went on, “You don’t always just have to look at the issues with our team, but also congratulate Verona who played at a frenzied pace at first half. I told the squad that Verona would drop their intensity because he couldn’t keep up with that pace.”
Inzaghi was happy with the performance of Joaquin Correa, who changed the game by scoring two goals from the bench in his first appearance as a Nerazzurri player, only a day after being officially announced by the club.
“I am happy for Tucu because in my opinion he is a player who has not yet shown his best,” the manager said, “He has everything, he has technique, speed, shooting, power. I am happy and it is only right that he enjoys this brace on his debut. He’s an important player who gives us a lot.”
Asked whether the team is stronger or weaker than last season, he stated, “Unfortunately I didn’t see Hakimi train, we know what a player he is. I coached Lukaku for a week and he is a devastating player in full flow.”
“The club did very well,” he continued, “in a few days they made Dzeko available to me, and then Dumfries and Correa. The club was clear and told me that first of all it was necessary to secure Inter financially. I found great players at my disposal and I understood why they achieved so much last year.”
“For a coach, what happened with Genoa and what happened today is the best,” he said of contributions from throughout the squad.
“If the players can understand that whoever came on than who plays, then we’ll be fine. Vidal, Dimarco, Correa, Sensi have all come on from the bench and they did very well. Brozovic had a little problem, he ad a bad sprain. Vidal was great today.”
Asked whether the departure of Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo would make the Bianconeri and improve Inter’s Scudetto chances, he said, “I’m sorry because Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo leave a void in our league. We hope other champions will arrive, what remains is the competitiveness that it takes to win games.”
Of the strike pairing of Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez, he said, “They did well, today was not easy against the Hellas defense.”
“Lautaro came back from Argentina and did four training sessions before he had a little problem,” he said, “I didn’t think he held back much.”
He went on, “Edin made the goal, and let’s not forget that Sanchez is also missing, who is an important player and is equal to the other three.”