Spalletti looking for progress against Lyon

NANJING – Inter’s second match of their tour of the Far East is against Lyon tomorrow in the International Champions Cup China (kick-off at 14:05 CEST). 

Luciano Spalletti gave his thoughts on the friendly in a news conference at the Nanjing Olympic Stadium today.

"Playing at a high, intense tempo is not easy in these temperatures," the Nerazzurri coach began, "but we can get around this problem using our technical ability. I saw good signs against Schalke 04; now I expect to see even more progress against Lyon.

"We did a lot of video analysis on that game, talking with the players about the right way forward. We’ll change a few things from the match against Germans: Nagatomo, Miranda, Murillo, D'Ambrosio, Borja Valero, Candreva and Eder will start. Geoffrey Kondogbia is also available.

"As for Mauro Icardi’s fitness, he’s constantly improving but we don’t want to run any risks, so tomorrow he won’t be involved.

"Inter have targets and ambitious aims; Ivan Perisic is an important player in this squad."

Antonio Candreva was also at the conference and himself answered a few questions from the assembled media.

"This jersey has a massive history and it should be honoured every time it’s worn," he declared. "I’ve joined an important project and I’m happy to be here. We can sense the significance of Suning. There are so many fans here and this cannot help but make us happy."