Simone Inzaghi warns Inter ‘there is no such thing as certainty in football’ after thrashing Salernitana 4-0, but tactical ‘balance’ is essential against Atletico Madrid.
It was top against bottom with 50 points now separating the teams, and it showed, as the Nerazzurri made short work of this victory.
Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez and Denzel Dumfries had already given them a 3-0 lead before half-time, as well as hitting the woodwork twice, before Marko Arnautovic tapped in with the last kick of the game.
“The lads were great, we played a professional game with the right approach. We knew Salernitana caused a lot of problems to many teams recently, including Napoli, Juventus and Milan,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.
The coach kept squad rotation to a minimum, despite the fact Atletico Madrid are coming up on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
“I had no concerns, as the squad had recovered well, we played on Saturday in Rome. I made three changes, I could’ve made more, but they seemed fully fit, concentrated and aware of the importance of the match for our table.
“Overall the team has become more mature, we cover the spaces well and almost always maintain a balance too. It was a very important game just before a Champions League tie and we had the right approach from the start.”
This puts them temporarily 10 points clear at the top of the table, having played the same number of matches as Juventus and Milan, but Inzaghi is taking nothing for granted.
“There is no such thing as certainty in football, we must remain concentrated. As a player, I won a Scudetto that seemed to be lost, then I lost one that seemed to be won. I’ve been in football a long time and I know there is a long road ahead of us.
“We are taking it one game at a time, that was the case in the last three months of the previous season. Our objective is to go all the way in every competition. There is a long way to go and we must stay on our toes, because Juventus and Milan will not let go until the end.
“We’ve been playing every three or four days so far in 2024, but it’s going to be a packed fixture list from now on, so I need the same responses I got tonight from those who started and those who came off the bench.”
Salernitana sacked Simone’s older brother Pippo this week to bring in his former Lazio teammate Fabio Liverani, so while it was not the reunion he wanted on the touchline, it was still a familiar face.
The focus now turns to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday and it is going to be another former Lazio teammate in the form of Diego Simeone.
“Atletico Madrid are a great team, they have a great coach in Cholo, who is a friend. They had not lost at home in 25 games, in the last match they had 30 efforts without finding the net, so clearly the last two results did not reflect their performances.
“This is a side with quality, they are difficult and have a great deal of experience, but we will face them with our own characteristics.”
The Spaniards have lost their last two matches 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey and Sevilla in LaLiga.
Stefano Sensi was not even on the bench this evening, but Davide Frattesi had been expected to come on as a substitute.
“Frattesi has recovered, he had his first training session with the rest of the squad yesterday. I did think about using him tonight in the second half, and he was very eager, but I decided there was no need to rush.”
#Inzaghi: "Nel calcio non c'è mai sicurezza, concentrati anche quando dormiamo. #Frattesi è recuperato"#InterSalernitanahttps://t.co/pCjFSvNCKi
— FcInterNews.it (@FcInterNewsit) February 16, 2024