Simone Inzaghi assures he ‘never lost faith’ in Inter and their Scudetto chances and explains what went wrong during February and March. ‘It was weighing on our minds.’
The Nerazzurri got the job done in the opening half-hour with Ivan Perisic assists setting up both Nicolò Barella and Edin Dzeko to beat Verona 2-0.
Hellas tried to fight back after the break, but Samir Handanovic stood strong, while Danilo D’Ambrosio saw his attempt palmed onto the upright by Lorenzo Montipò.
“We knew how good Verona are, so we prepared this game very carefully with the right approach from the very start,” the coach told DAZN.
“The first half performance was excellent, the second was more about controlling the situation. The team did what it needed to and carried on the work done against Juventus.”
Inzaghi was asked to explain his picks, as Stefan de Vrij returned only to go off injured at half-time, while Federico Dimarco was chosen in the back three.
“Dimarco has some very specific characteristics and had done really well against Napoli, while Alessandro Bastoni was tired after a run of games. De Vrij had a flexor issue, but hopefully it’s nothing serious.”
When Robin Gosens came on, Perisic moved to a support striker role. Is that something we could see again in future?
“It’s possible,” replied Inzaghi. “Gosens is improving, he needs playing time, but Ivan is also in great form. Joaquin Correa had a knock to the knee, he wasn’t running well, so I preferred to take him off.”
Inter had looked exhausted during February and March, but now seem to be revitalised.
“Mentality makes a big difference in football, we had a real tour de force and in recent weeks the results weren’t coming. It was weighing on our minds, we couldn’t play the way we did before. It happens.
“We did well to beat Juventus and follow that with another strong performance against a team in form like Verona.”
Right now, all the top teams have played 31 games, so Milan sit on top with a one-point advantage over Inter and Napoli.
“I always had faith, because I know the journey we are on and the risk of taking over the Champions of Italy who had just lost important players.
“The club and fans were always behind us, they understood these sacrifices were necessary. We’re still up there, doing really well and will fight it out in the final seven games. It’s very tight up there, we’re all on the same level.”