Inter coach Simone Inzaghi spoke of his delight at the form of wingback Matteo Darmian, whilst revealing that Denzel Dumfries is carrying an injury.
The former Manchester United defender started ahead of Dumfries in yesterday’s 1-0 win over Hellas Verona at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Serie A, and has impressed since the return of league football following the World Cup break.
In an interview with Italian television broadcaster DAZN following the match, and as reported by FCInterNews.it, the ex-Lazio coach explained why Darmian had been selected ahead of Dumfries, revealing that the latter had returned from the World Cup with an injury.
“Darmian is in very good form, Dumfries came back from the World Cup with a physical problem that limited him in his work,” Inzaghi said.
“These days he has worked well, but not as the Dumfries we know, who is of great value to us. We have to try to get him back into condition.”
Inter were also without midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and striker Romelu Lukaku through injury, but fellow forward Lautaro Martinez stepped up to score the only goal of the match and seal the win.
“This year a choice was made to bring Romelu back and unfortunately, like Brozovic, we never had him available. We don’t have to look back but forward, we hope to get them back as soon as possible,” Inzaghi went on.
“We know what Romelu can offer, now he has had an inflammation that prevents him from working at his best. We hope he can improve from training session to training session.
“Brozovic and Handanovic are not available for the Supercoppa Italiana, for Lukaku we have to see in the coming days how the inflammation in the joint responds.
“Lautaro is doing very well, but he already had form before the World Cup. I had to ask a little bit more when he came back, he had to play all the matches because we have difficulties in rotation. He was also very useful tonight.”
Victory saw Inter reduce the gap to leaders Napoli to 10 points, after the Nerazzurri inflicted the Partentopei’s only league defeat this season at the start of the month, but Inzaghi did not want to focus on the league table.
“They have opened up a huge gap, it has been an incredible run and those of us who are behind are lagging well behind. We must keep pedalling without looking at the table, we must try to win as much as possible.
“The draw at Monza slowed us down, but tonight it was important to win after 120 minutes on Tuesday (against Parma in the Coppa Italia). Today the team remained focused, we defended well: Onana was rarely troubled.”
Inzaghi insisted that after a difficult season, Inter had found their rhythm and the gap to Napoli was down to the imperious form of the Azzurri more than anything else.
“As I said yesterday, in the last 10 games we have won eight, losing only to Juve and drawing at Monza. Despite an intense Champions League group and many injuries that have weighed on us, the team has found continuity, but the setbacks and the form of Napoli make these 10 matches seem normal.”
Ex-Lazio midfielder Marco Parolo was in the studio and shared an inside joke with his former coach, with Inter ready to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa Italiana against AC Milan on Wednesday.
“This time the league decided. I knew you’d ask me!” Inzaghi laughed, when asked if he would be staying in the same hotel as the one Lazio had used.
