Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu feels that city rivals AC Milan will have to respect them after their emphatic 3-0 win in the Supercoppa Italiana.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset after the match, via FCInterNews, the 28-year-old suggested that the Nerazzurri gave the Rossoneri a taste of karma for some of their Serie A title celebrations at the end of last season by completely outplaying them.
Inter and Milan have faced off in some heated derby clashes over the past couple seasons, even by the usual standards of the fixture.
Last season, the Rossoneri took four points from the two league derbies which proved to be decisive in the title race, whilst the Nerazzurri got some measure of revenge by knocking their city rivals out of the Coppa Italia on the way to winning the competition.
In the first league meeting this season, Milan edged out a five-goal thriller, but this time around, the Nerazzurri made no mistake, putting three goals past their rivals without reply.
“It’s a very important win,” Calhanoglu said, “even moreso for me.”
“I’m very happy, and I have to thank my teammates and the fans who came here with us.”
“We won 3-0, there’s not much to say.”
Asked whether he thinks that this result was a measure of revenge for some of the Rossoneri’s title celebrations last season, Calhanoglu replied “Sure, I don’t want to say anything but let’s just say karma always comes back.”
“We were hungry, they have to show us respect.”
“It ended 3-0 and we killed them off early, we just gobbled them up,” he added.
“Now let’s focus on [the team’s Serie A clash with Empoli on] Monday, we’ll believe in the Serie A title right until the end.”
“We came back very well with a win against Napoli, and then there was the draw against Monza, which nobody expected.”
“Then we won against Verona, and today, we have to keep going like this,” the Turk concluded. “I believe in it.”
