Simone Inzaghi fears Inter will lose Benjamin Pavard ‘for a while’ after a knee injury and has his say on the contentious Atalanta goal. ‘It looked like a foul to me.’
This victory allows them to consolidate their spot at the top of Serie A and also break away from the trailing pack, as Atalanta were fourth going into this weekend.
“We knew this was going to be a difficult match, but the lads did really well to control the game. Atalanta put pressure on for the first 20 minutes, but then we were in control after going 2-0 up. It’s a pity that we conceded a goal to open it up again,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
“It was a very good performance against an opponent that until now had not conceded a single goal at home this season.”
Benjamin Pavard went off with a sprained left knee, but his replacement Matteo Darmian won the penalty converted by Hakan Calhanoglu, the first goal Atalanta conceded at home this season.
“The way Darmian came on was exemplary, he didn’t even have time to warm up. We have to wait and see what happened to Pavard, as the kneecap basically moved out of position and back in again. The doctors will take their time to do all the tests, but I fear we’ll lose him for a while.”
Lautaro Martinez’s magnificent curler doubled the lead, though Gianluca Scamacca set up a tense finale with his goal after Federico Dimarco was barged off the ball by Ademola Lookman.
“It looked like a foul to me, but the referee waved play on. Unfortunately, that goal changed the course of the game, but I think overall Sozza did well in his officiating today. We told the lads that games in Bergamo are like this, there are always going to be heavy challenges.”
It was raining very heavily in Bergamo and Inzaghi admits he is a concern for the medical staff too.
“I was not meant to get too cold, as I have not been very well over the last few days and the kit staff are worried about me. I can get injured, just as long as my players don’t!”
This victory consolidates Inter’s place at the top of the Serie A table and allows them to focus on the upcoming Champions League trip to RB Salzburg.
“We are only 11 rounds in, obviously it’s a big signal to win in a tough place like this, but we’re not even a third of the way through. We believe in ourselves, but we know it won’t be easy.”