Simone Inzaghi admits Denzel Dumfries settled in ‘quicker than expected’ at Inter and made quite an impression in the 6-1 victory over Bologna.
The Man of the Match was Dumfries, who made his first start and an immediate impact, two assists and other great chances created at San Siro.
“It was a great performance, he is training well and frankly has settled in quicker than expected. He has quality, quantity, is eager to learn and we are more than satisfied,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
The six goals put past Bologna felt like the opposite of Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, when they failed to make any of their opportunities count, partly due to the remarkable Thibaut Courtois saves.
“I feared this game, because after Wednesday against Real Madrid where we deserved more, there was some concern. Fortunately, the lads took the right approach from the very beginning.
“At times you need to analyse a game without looking at the result. I congratulated the lads on how we played against Real Madrid, but then told them off because you can’t lose after creating that many chances.
“Sometimes you can have 18 shots and not score, as we did against Real Madrid, whereas this time we broke the deadlock straight away and that made it easier. Inter deserve credit, because Bologna were unbeaten so far this season in Serie A.”
Alexis Sanchez came off the bench for his first appearance of the season in the Inter jersey and immediately provided an assist for Edin Dzeko.
“It’s the first week Sanchez has trained with the squad. Unfortunately, he had a relapse on international duty, but he is working so hard in training to get stronger and this half-hour will do him good.”
Joaquin Correa went off after just 20 minutes after a collision left him with a badly bruised hip and he is currently getting an X-Ray at the local hospital.
“Correa is having tests right now. Stefano Sensi is not available at the moment, but he has so much quality that I’d like to see him play as a support striker as well as in midfield.
“I had intended to rest Dzeko today, but when we lost Correa, I couldn’t use Alexis Sanchez for 70 minutes. I managed to rest Hakan Calhanoglu and Ivan Perisic.”
Lautaro Martinez scored one goal and rattled the woodwork today, confirming his leadership role at Inter ahead of a new contract.
“I already knew he was a very good player, but once I got to work with him, I realised why he has done so well for Inter and Argentina,” Inzaghi concluded.
“It’s a pity he didn’t score more, as he hit the crossbar today, but I have to give him some time off during a packed fixture list.”
Lautaro’s dummy ➡️ Dzeko’s finish
A lovely outside-of-the-boot strike from Edin Dzeko has Inter flying… they now lead 5-0 against Bologna 😳 pic.twitter.com/cIbWhkKFsN
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 18, 2021