Andrea Stramaccioni insists the draw was “overall the right result, though Milan put us under pressure in the first half.”
Inter fought back from a Stephan El Shaarawy goal to snatch the 1-1 result with Ezequiel Schelotto coming off the bench.
Andrea Stramaccioni insists the draw was “overall the right result, though Milan put us under pressure in the first half.”
Inter fought back from a Stephan El Shaarawy goal to snatch the 1-1 result with Ezequiel Schelotto coming off the bench.
“Overall it was the right result. Milan had a great first half and put us under pressure, but Inter came out with a different attitude and spirit. I think we ended on more of a high than Milan, as they were suffering towards the finish,” said the Coach.
“Thanks also to the saves of Samir Handanovic, the draw was the right result.”
The Nerazzurri did look like a completely different team after the break, so what was his half-time talk?
“I don’t have to explain what a Coach does, as it’s obvious anyone who sees his team suffering will try to fix things. I can give my contribution in the locker room, but the credit goes to the lads.
“I will admit that in the first half Milan probably went closer to another goal than we did an equaliser. We didn’t start that badly, as until the goal Milan were troubling us on the flanks – which we expected – but we were in there.
“The goal came from a lost ball in midfield and we lost our way a little bit. There are moments like that in a game, but at half-time we were able to re-organise and settle to get it back on track.”
In the first half Milan were able to put in dozens of dangerous crosses, above all with Mattia De Sciglio.
“Kevin-Prince Boateng’s position made it difficult for us, as he came up behind our midfielders and forced Javier Zanetti to cut in. On the other flank Yuto Nagatomo was following El Shaarawy too deep, which we corrected after the break and De Sciglio was no longer able to get that much space.
“We needed more courage to leave El Shaarawy to the centre-backs when he went towards the middle. Fredy Guarin was acting as the third on the right, but is not a winger, so he struggled. We moved Zanetti to the left and he did better at controlling Milan there.
“After Diego Milito’s injury we spoke with Antonio Cassano and he can do really well as a striker. He’s more of a creative striker than a classic centre-forward who finishes moves off. I think this is the best solution in Milito’s absence.”
Stramaccioni had been under attack in the media after a series of poor results, including last week’s 4-1 defeat to Fiorentina.
“It’s only right that I get criticised, as I am a young Coach with no Serie A pedigree, but I think it’s unfair when the players are torn apart in the media. For example, Lazio lost in an even worse way to Siena, but our team was treated like a disaster area. There are too many extremes in the judgment of this side.
“We’ve had many injuries this season and have to reinvent the attack once again. Milan are on world-beating form and Inter played their game tonight.”