Simone Inzaghi claims having Marcelo Brozovic, Romelu Lukaku and others back to full fitness makes a ‘big difference’ for Inter after their victory over Roma, as he prepares for Milan in the Champions League.
The Nerazzurri consolidated fourth place with this crucial away victory, sealed thanks to Federico Dimarco from a tight angle and Romelu Lukaku making the most of that Roger Ibanez howler.
Lautaro Martinez also thumped the crossbar, though Andre Onana made a couple of fingertip saves.
“We expected the game you saw, a very difficult one against a strong team that allows very little on home turf,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
“We ought to hug every player for all they are doing from April 1, those who came on, who started, who couldn’t play. We are making a huge effort because we are Inter, we want to go all the way in every competition, even though we know it means an extremely difficult series of fixtures in a short space of time.”
This result allows Inter to have a superior head-to-head record with Roma, as they lost 2-1 at home and won 2-0 here, not to mention breaking five points clear of the Giallorossi in the table.
It is the ideal way to prepare for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final against Milan at San Siro.
“What has changed is that now I have the options to rotate in attack and midfield, which I did not have until January. There are a few more issues with defenders and wing-backs, but I have a choice now, which I didn’t have until January.”
Marcelo Brozovic made a key pass this evening and Lukaku was on target again, so they are making a big difference too.
“I hadn’t really had him at all from early October to the start of January, the same goes for Lukaku. Everyone knows how important these players are and now they are showing what they can do. I have great faith they can continue to play like this for the rest of the season.
“We knew that Roma were extremely dangerous on set plays and we paid for one of those incidents last time we met, so to face 12 corners today and not concede, that shows how focused we were.”
Does Inzaghi have any doubts for the starting XI going into the first leg of the Champions League semi-final with Milan?
“It is to be played over 180 minutes. We’ve had a lot of knockout fixtures in recent years, we know that they have to be looked at over both legs and incidents can tip the balance one way or another.
“A coach has an idea, but with 72 hours to go before kick-off, the players can always do something to change the situation.”
Inter seem to be finding their physical form at the right time to go all the way in three tournaments, so was that part of the plan?
“I am fortunate enough to have worked for over 10 years with my staff and we wanted to reach this stage of the season at our best, but we could not predict that we’d be in the semi-final of the Champions League and the Coppa Italia Final.
“I’m lucky to have a group of players who work hard with heart and at times this season we had to block our ears, ignore certain talk and keep focused. We know there are four games to go in Serie A, plus a semi-final and Final we will play with great spirit.”