Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is glad to be able to lead the Nerazzurri to a successful season after the faith shown in him by the club.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster DAZN after the Nerazzurri’s win over Lazio in Serie A, the 45-year-old expressed his happiness at being able to prove himself and guide the team to positive results after being appointed in the summer.
Inzaghi saw his team reach the top of the Serie A table once again, leapfrogging city rivals AC Milan after the Rossoneri had temporarily gotten to top spot with a win over Venezia earlier in the day.
The Nerazzurri are on track to defend their Scudetto, partly thanks to the work of their coach, and for him it is an honour to be able to return the favour for the opportunity that he has been given.
Of beating his former team Lazio, Inzaghi stated that “You know what Lazio represents for me, they nurtured me, they were my life.”
“This was not the same as other victories,” he said of beating his old side, before emphasizing “but I wanted completely to get this win, to give back everything that Inter has given me.”
“We wanted to return with a win,” he stated of coming back from the winter break, “it wasn’t easy because we came up against a quality team, who showed what they can do on Thursday.”
“But looking at the statistics, we deserved our victory, I’m happy,” he went on. “On Wednesday we are preparing to do our best in the Supercoppa final at our stadium.”
“I am fortunate to have many excellent players,” he said of the goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar, “D’Ambrosio also scored from the wide centre-back position.”
“Now we must not let up,” he continued, “all our direct rivals won as well.”
“After what happened with the Bologna match we faced a team who played three days ago, whereas we hadn’t been on the pitch since December 22,” he emphasized. “But the guys did very well, I let them know how happy I am.”
On what makes him most proud coaching Inter, Inzaghi named “The fact that everyone participates. Vidal was one of the best players on the pitch against Torino, and Gagliardini was one of the best today.”
“For me, it’s a point of pride when players who don’t always play can show their abilities like this,” he continued.
“Lautaro had a great match alongside Sanchez,” Inzaghi said. “I was also lucky enough to have Dzeko and Correa, who both did well from the bench.”
“The guys did everything just as they needed to in a game that wasn’t easy by any means,” he emphasized.
On the pressure of being Scudetto favourites, he stated that “On October 20 I felt it much less, now I hear it more and more, and the credit for that has to go to the guys for winning eight games in a row.”
He went on that “Before, I didn’t feel like the title was ours to lose, now it feels different. But this must become a motivation for us to keep improving.”
Of Alexis Sanchez, the coach stated that”He wasn’t available during the first month and a half of the season due to a calf injury, but then he got back into rhythm and has done everything to prove himself to me in every training session.”
“He’s always positive, he’s part of the group,” he added, “he always wants to give his best.”
“I’m fortunate to have four very good forwards,” he emphasized, “I have to make choices and they understand that. In any case, Alexis has been an asset to the team for a month now.”
