Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is pleased to have watched his team see off Roma in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals earlier this evening.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset, the coach praised his players for their display, while also wishing a speedy recovery to Alessandro Bastoni following the defender’s painful ankle injury.
Inter needed to bounce back from Saturday’s derby defeat against AC Milan by beating the Giallorossi in a knockout match to reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, and they did so.
Now, the Nerazzurri will face one of AC Milan or Lazio in the semi-finals, and the coach will hope that his team can keep this level of performance up.
“The guys did very well,” he said. “It was not an easy match, Roma are a quality team with an excellent squad.”
“We controlled the pitch well and deservedly make it to the semi-final,” he went on. “I congratulated the team, they did well to stay organized and show their personality just two and a half days after the derby.”
The one sour note for the Nerazzurri on the night was the twisted knee injury suffered by Bastoni, and the coach will be holding his breath hoping that the 22-year-old’s issue isn’t serious and that he can be back in the team before long.
“We hope that Bastoni’s problem isn’t serious and that we won’t lose him for long, because he’s a very important player for us,” the coach said.
“I don’t think controlling the game is easy,” Inzaghi went on. “We almost always manage it, but we have to take into account that there are tough opponents, like Milan, Napoli, Liverpool, Roma.”
“We have to take into account that there are moments where we have to suffer,” he went on, “this time we did well in the difficult moments and we kept a clean sheet.”
The coach also spoke on the performance of Ivan Perisic, who assisted Edin Dzeko’s opener, stating that “He’s been playing at a very high level since the beginning of the season.”
“I’m happy with all my players,” he emphasized, “Inter are first in the standings, we’ve won the Super Cup and have progressed in the Champions League and the Coppa Italia.”
“I’m happy with the group, we’ve faced many opponents and haven’t had an easy path,” he added. “We wanted this objective and we achieved it against an excellent team with a great coach and excellent players.”
