Simone Inzaghi acknowledges Salernitana’s tactics had at first stumped him, but Inter adjusted and introduced Lautaro Martinez to secure the 4-0 victory. ‘He is our leader, the captain.’
The Nerazzurri tried to rotate the squad this evening, partly forced upon them by injuries to Davide Frattesi, Marko Arnautovic, Stefano Sensi and Juan Cuadrado, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lautaro Martinez were among those rested.
However, struggling to make any real impact with 53 minutes gone, Inzaghi looked to the bench and threw on the big guns, including El Toro, who became the first Serie A player in history to score four goals off the bench.
“It is a very important victory. We created a lot of situations in the first half and in my view should’ve scored. We did better off the ball in the second half, as Salernitana are a team who can create problems at the Stadio Arechi especially,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“We only had a day and a half to prepare this game, the lads put the effort in and we could’ve done better in the first half, but the team always kept its shape. Once we broke the deadlock, it felt easier.
“We expected Salernitana to play with a different system, but I have experienced players who should’ve done better to adapt. We sorted a few things out during the break and improved.”
Marcus Thuram provided the assist for the opening Lautaro Martinez goal, while Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen did not make much of an impact in their first starts.
“Alexis Sanchez worked very hard for 55 minutes, he was unlucky on a couple of occasions, while Thuram did exceptional work for the team.”
This is the strongest start to any season in Lautaro Martinez’s career, finding the net nine times in seven Serie A matches, plus the Champions League equaliser against Real Sociedad.
“It is an excellent start, but in my two years here he was always consistent and tonight was the time to have a little rest. He is our leader, the captain, he must continue like this.”
The first half seemed to suggest there was still a hangover from that 2-1 defeat to Sassuolo, so how had Inzaghi talked the team through the fallout from that midweek upset?
“We had talked it over, I think we had a good hour against Sassuolo, then the first goal was an error and the second was a stunner from Berardi. Once we conceded the equaliser, we should’ve stayed sharper and kept our heads, but instead we lost our shape and did not play the football we are accustomed to.”
Inzaghi refused to say who he considered to be the Scudetto favourites, instead hoping to simply go all the way in the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Serie A.
“I said before the opening game, what we want to do is play as many games as possible the way we did last season. It’s a strain with all the travel, late nights and having a day and a half to prepare, but it’s all worth it.”
Leao who???