Edin Dzeko reflected on the tense Derby d’Italia clash between Inter and Juventus in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
The fiery match ended 1-1 at the Allianz Stadium last week, setting up a tense second leg, but was overshadowed by the racist abuse coming from sections of the Bianconeri support, something that was widely condemned after the game and led to sanctions.
On the pitch, things were tense between the two teams and red cards were shown to Samir Handanovic and Juan Cuadrado for a brawl.
Speaking to N1, Dzeko first discussed Inter’s ambitions in the Coppa Italia and his time with the club.
“This season I have already won a trophy with Inter, but the goal is always to win new titles. In Milan, I have already won three, I know how important it is for the club to always be in the fight for the Scudetto.
“The fight with Juventus is wide open, at San Siro we will have to play even better, to try to reach the final and lift the cup.”
The Bosnian veteran then commented on the controversy that stemmed from the first leg of the semi-finals.
“During the match some things happened that should never be on the football pitch, which have already been spoken and written about. Our fans supported us throughout the match, and I wanted to thank them in this way.
“At that moment I felt that giving them the shirt was the least I could do, and I thank them for their support on the pitch. We have had a good relationship since the first day of my arrival at Inter.”
Whilst Inter have looked a little inconsistent in Serie A this season, the team have performed well in cup competitions, winning the Supercoppa Italiana and qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.