Inzaghi: "In control for long spells, we deserved more"

MILAN – Simone Inzaghi was disappointed not to claim all the spoils but nonetheless pleased with the way his team played in Sunday's 1-1 with AC Milan.

The Nerazzurri took the lead through Hakan Calhanoglu's spot-kick before an unfortunate Stefan de Vrij own goal levelled the scores and Lautaro Martinez saw his penalty saved by Ciprian Tatarusanu.

“I see the glass as half full because we created loads of chances and missed a penalty,” the coach said after the 175th Milan derby. “We should be coming away with a better result but a performance like that is good for our self-belief.

“We didn't start off too well in the opening 20 minutes, then after that we used the ball a lot better – which is key against this AC Milan side. We were in control for long spells of the game and we deserved more. 

“Now we'll try to recharge our batteries because this run of games has taken a lot out of us. In our last six matches, we've won four and drawn against Juventus and Milan – both of which we probably deserved to win. 

“The top two are flying at the moment but there's still a long way to go. We wanted to win this for our fans and on balance I think we should have, but we must look forward now."

Inzaghi then offered his view on the performance of goalscorer Calhanoglu and the wealth of midfield options at his disposal.

“Calhanoglu is doing really well. He was superb tonight, just as he was against Udinese. 

“I have lots of midfielders to choose from and it's not easy to leave out the likes of [Arturo] Vidal, [Stefano] Sensi, [Roberto] Gagliardini and [Matias] Vecino, but when we're playing every three days I have to make choices.”

He also provided a quick update on the niggles picked up during the match.

“[Nicolo] Barella has a muscle problem and we'll need to take a look at him. [Edin] Dzeko and [Alessandro] Bastoni had a few issues at the end of the first half but when you're playing at such a high tempo these things can happen. Hopefully it's nothing serious.”