Nicoló Barella admits Inter ‘enjoyed ourselves in a way we had not done for a while’ after dominating Lazio 3-0 to set up the Supercoppa Italiana Final against Napoli.
It was one-way traffic in Riyadh, as Marcus Thuram opened the scoring from a cheeky Federico Dimarco back-heel flick, then Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty before late on Davide Frattesi completed the counter-attack set up by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
“It was a really great performance, we enjoyed ourselves on the pitch in a way we had not done for a while,” Barella told Mediaset.
“Lazio have quality and a high press, but everyone wanted the ball today, we had fun and that is important. We wanted to be a well-oiled machine from the start of the season, it took a lot of work to reach this level and we want to keep going.”
While Yann Sommer was relatively undisturbed, Ivan Provedel made a couple of tricky saves and was twice rescued by the woodwork on Barella and Lautaro Martinez efforts.
“Naturally, it would’ve been pleasing to score as it was such a good move, but providing an assist or helping the team is all the same to me.”
Inter go through to face Napoli in the Supercoppa Final, which will be in this same stadium in Riyadh on Monday, kicking off at 19.00 GMT.
Curiously, despite this being the first ever Final Four format of the Supercoppa, the trophy is still between the reigning Serie A and Coppa Italia champions.
It is also an opportunity for the Nerazzurri to win the Supercoppa for the third year in a row, but Napoli are not to be underestimated.
“Napoli beat Fiorentina 3-0, they might’ve been going through a difficult period lately, but the quality remains and they are still the reigning Champions of Italy. We must be wary, play our game and continue the way we are doing.”
The title defense in 𝗼𝗻!
Congratulations to @Inter_en 🏆🦾#EASPORTSFCSupercup pic.twitter.com/QJkN3nMgMK
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 19, 2024