Eriksen, a very important goal: "I'm really happy!"

CROTONE – He’d been on the pitch for fewer than four minutes, but it was enough to leave an indelible mark, just like he has in other circumstances this season. Christian Eriksen let fly with a powerful and precise effort from outside the box, one which ended in the net to give Inter the lead prior to Hakimi’s finish in stoppage time.

Inter are now very close to the Scudetto title in no small part thanks to that precious goal in the 69th minute, and the Dane had the following to say to Sky Sport and Inter TV following the game: “Yes, it’s an important goal because it moves us closer to the title, but we still haven’t won it yet. If it proves to be the decisive goal, then obviously it’ll be the most important one of the season. Every goal is important, but the one that takes you to your objective is extra special.

“This has been a long and challenging season with increasingly tough matches, like the one today. We’ve come up against teams that don’t give a lot away, but we’ve always worked to create goalscoring opportunities. Today, I came on as a substitute, and when you do this the aim is to make your mark: you want to shake things up. I’m happy that I managed to do so.

“We were expecting a difficult match, they were trying to avoid going down. It was clear that they’d fight. We were unfortunate after hitting the woodwork twice in the first half. Lukaku did well to supply me with a pass for the goal, I’d like to thank him after we reversed roles: I’m usually the one trying to provide assists.”

And now? “Now, we’ll wait. How long it takes isn’t important, be it tomorrow or next Saturday. We’ll remain patient.”