Simone Inzaghi admits he ‘understands’ Verona’s frustration at losing to Inter amid controversy and chaos, as picking up points while struggling is ‘very important’ in the Scudetto race.
The Nerazzurri had taken an early lead through Lautaro Martinez and conceded the Thomas Henry equaliser against the run of play, when the game spiralled out of control in the final minutes.
Davide Frattesi scored at the 93rd minute with DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli insisting it should’ve been disallowed for an Alessandro Bastoni elbow on Ondrej Duda, then Henry fired a penalty onto the upright at the 100th minute, sealing the 2-1 result.
“It is important to win this type of game,” Inzaghi told DAZN after his team wildly celebrated becoming Winter Champions.
“I liked the team in possession, although we should’ve been more precise against a Verona side that played very well. We all experienced those final minutes together, we also had more chances to score. It was a match of suffering, but these games are very important.”
Verona were furious, with director of sport Sean Sogliano claiming there was a ‘lack of respect’ from Inter and officials over the Bastoni elbow incident, especially as it got Darko Lazovic sent off for dissent.
“I too have lost games like this, so clearly I understand that mood,” replied Inzaghi. “The penalty for Verona was fair, Matteo Darmian knew he had touched the opponent’s ankle.
“If the match had gone differently, I would’ve taken Lautaro Martinez off earlier to rest him, but he showed no signals of being in pain. It was also good to have Benjamin Pavard back, as he is an international player who always wanted to be close to the team, even when injured.”
The Inter coach criticised the state of the turf at San Siro, noting that both his own club and Milan directors had discussed the need to do something about this on-going difficulty.
The result means that the Nerazzurri are crowned Winter Champions, being top of the Serie A table at the midway stage of the season.
“We finished the first round of games on 48 points, which is a very good tally. There is one team keeping up the pace, but Milan and others are also ready to step in if there is a slip-up.
“Our last few performances were not as sharp, but the fact we fought so hard against Genoa and today Verona can give us an important sign for the future.”
The future also includes Canada international Tajon Buchanan, who was in the stands today following his transfer from Club Brugge.
“He is a very good player. Juan Cuadrado had been playing on that injury and it got worse, now Buchanan is young, but already quite experienced. I saw him train this morning and we’ll try to get him settled as soon as possible.”
#Inter, #Inzaghi: "Finale? Ne ho perse anche io di partite così. #Buchanan ottimo acquisto" https://t.co/sbNPkAL1nT
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 6, 2024
Match fixing is alive and well .. the last 3 inter games had their opponents see Red .. so obvious