Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi admits that he was worried that a lack of energy would be a risk for the Nerazzurri in this evening’s Serie A clash with Atalanta.
Speaking to InterTV after the match, via FCInterNews, the coach expressed his happiness that his players made sure it wasn’t.
Inter had to play just a couple days after facing Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday.
Nerazzurri CEO Beppe Marotta had harshly criticized this schedling.
The Inter executive went as far as to claim that “player safety is at risk” based on such scheduling.
Even though the final against La Viola didn’t go to extra time, it was still a gruelling commitment.
Particularly given how packed the entire fixture list has been for Inter in recent weeks, a lack of energy was always going to be a risk against La Dea.
Inzaghi: Was Worried Inter Milan Would Be Tired Vs Atalanta
Inzaghi admitted that he celebrated with a little extra zeal “Because I was worried for this match, and I wanted to win it at all costs.”
“I know I’m coaching serious professionals who always work hard,” the Inter coach continued. “However, coming back at six in the morning on Wednesday and having so little time to train, I was afraid that tonight we might run out of energy.”
“And instead they did great!” he added.
“We started very strong in the first 35 minutes,” Inzaghi said of his team’s performance, which saw them go ahead very early on.
“Then Atalanta showed their quality and ideas,” he continued. We dropped back a little for a quarter of an hour.”
“But in the second half we didn’t concede anything.”
“We were very good at covering the pitch,” Inzaghi said. “We played our game and achieved a win that we wanted to.”
Asked if he partly wanted this win to give the team calmness for the clash with Torino and then the Champions League final, Inzaghi replied “Absolutely.”
“It was the last match in front of this wonderful crowd who always cheer us on,” he continued.
“We wanted to finish in the best way possible.”
“We played an excellent match against a quality opponent, I’m very satisfied.”
As for how to approach the Champions League final against Manchester City, Inzaghi said “We’ll have to try to work and stay focused.”
“Now the guys will have two and a half days off,” he continued. “They’ll try to keep calm and be with their families as it should be after this intense schedule.”
“Then there’s the last match in the league before Istanbul.”
