Simone Inzaghi insists Inter ‘deserved far more’ than a point in the Milan Derby, especially after failing to convert a penalty, and explains the spot-kick hierarchy.
The Nerazzurri will leave this match with regrets, particularly as Ciprian Tatarusanu parried Lautaro Martinez’s penalty.
Hakan Calhanoglu had taken the first kick and scored, while Stefan de Vrij accidentally nodded a Sandro Tonali free kick into his own net.
Both sides had the chances to win it, Nicolò Barella denied by a goal-line clearance and Alexis Saelemaekers thumping the woodwork.
“The glass is half-empty, because we had so many chances and missed a penalty, so in my view we deserved far more,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
“We were up against a great team who are deservedly top of the table, we’re behind them in terms of progress, but there is time to get back on track and performances like this will give us confidence.”
Inter have not won any of the head-to-head clashes with the other big clubs so far this season.
“Over the last six games, we drew with Juventus and Milan when we probably deserved to win. Milan and Napoli are keeping up a remarkable tempo, but there’s a long way to go and we are up there.
“We wanted to give our fans a victory and I feel we did enough to deserve it. The tempo was very high and both teams probably could’ve done a lot better on a technical level, but it was intense.
“Milan are a very technical side, so you have to tire them out, make them move. We did well in the opening 20 minutes and generally I think we deserved more, we only struggled a little in the final 15 minutes.”
Calhanoglu was a risky choice against the club he left over the summer, knowing the ugly reception he would receive from the Rossoneri fans.
However, the Turkey international showed no nerves at all when converting the opening penalty and celebrating in front of the Curva Sud.
“Our penalty takers are Lautaro Martinez and Calhanoglu, while Ivan Perisic can take them too. Hakan asked to take the first, Lautaro took the second.
“It’s between them to decide, we know how those moments work. Calhanoglu had a great game tonight, he also did very well against Udinese, it’s not easy to leave someone out, as I have many great players at my disposal.”
Inter lost Barella and Edin Dzeko to muscular issues during the second half, so Inzaghi was asked for updates.
“Barella felt a twinge and asked for the substitution. I had a few issues with Dzeko and Bastoni in the first half, so naturally playing with this tempo and so often, the muscles are under strain. Hopefully they are nothing serious.”