Hakan Calhanoglu admits this is the best period of his career and warns after the 5-1 win away to Monza that ‘it is tough for anyone to beat’ Inter.
It was largely one-way traffic in Monza, as the Serie A leaders emerged with a comfortable 5-1 result.
Both Lautaro Martinez and Calhanoglu bagged a brace each, while Matteo Pessina got a consolation goal for the hosts before the late Marcus Thuram strike.
“This was the right response to criticism. A game like the one against Verona can happen, but the important thing is to concentrate on the next test,” Calhanoglu told Sky Sport Italia.
“We had time to recover and we showed in the first 20 minutes what we wanted to do.”
The victory puts the pressure back on Juventus, who will not play until Tuesday against Sassuolo and know they must win to close the gap.
“I do not look at what the others are doing. They do their work, we do ours. We will always try to improve and Monza have quality players, but if we play like this, it is tough for anyone to beat us.”
Inter’s next test is the Supercoppa Italiana, which they won last season in the traditional format, but it has now changed to a Final Four tournament.
Napoli–Fiorentina is the first semi-final on Thursday, with Inter-Lazio on Friday and the winners go head-to-head on Monday, with all those games played at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
“We fly out on Tuesday and we want to defend the Supercoppa, but we’ll see what happens.”
Calhanoglu had never previously scored a Serie A brace, while he has already matched his personal best of nine Serie A goals this season, achieved with Milan in 2019-20. So is this the best period of his career?
“We can say yes, I have improved, I really like the new role and will always try to give my best for my team.”
#Calhanoglu al 90esimo: "Questa è la mia miglior versione di sempre. Giocando così sarà dura batterci"https://t.co/1vVjNIBIiA
— FcInterNews.it (@FcInterNewsit) January 13, 2024