Handanovic happy to settle for 'decent point' at Atalanta

BERGAMO – On the day of his 350th appearance between the sticks for Inter, Samir Handanovic produced one of his finest performances in a Nerazzurri jersey against Atalanta. In addition to a couple of fabulous saves on Matteo Pessina and Luis Muriel to keep the scores intact, the Slovene shotstopper spent over four minutes in possession of the ball, making 69 touches and 56 passes – basically an extra playmaker.

Speaking to DAZN after the 0-0 draw, the Nerazzurri skipper conceded that a point apiece was a fair result.

“Looking at how the game went, a draw is a good result. We had a big chance with [Danilo] D'Ambrosio at the end but they could have scored too. It's always hard to play against Atalanta and we came into it after a very tiring match on Wednesday, so overall I think it's a decent point for us.

"I kept the ball more tonight because a keeper needs to be able to dictate the tempo of the play. 

“As for my save on Muriel, that's the sort of thing I train for. A goalkeeper's job is first and foremost to keep the ball out. Besides, I didn't have to study him too much because I've known him since we were together at Udinese."

AC Milan could leapfrog Inter at the top of the table on Monday, albeit having played a game more, but Samir is adamant it changes little at this stage either way.

“There are still lots of matches to play. We have a game in hand and there's a long way to go so there's no pressure as such. Nothing's been decided yet. If you can't win a match, the next best thing is to leave with a draw.”