Inzaghi: "Pleased with the result, it was important to win"

Inter are through to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Acerbi. Much like last season, the Nerazzurri needed extra time to win their Round of 16 tie as they beat Parma after a tough 120 minutes of football. After full-time, Simone Inzaghi had this to say:

“It was a really tough game this evening. When we conceded, it made life difficult for us but the reaction was great. I’m pleased. I would rather have avoided extra time but I remind you that it was the same last season against Empoli. We’ll now shift focus to Saturday because we have a big game against an in-form Verona side. We’re confident. We’ll take a look at the condition of the players who were missing tonight. With such a packed fixture list, we need everyone fit.”

“The players responded really well. We need to keep it up; we have exceeded expectations in the Champions League. We may have dropped a few points in the league but there are a lot of games left and we need everyone firing; rotation will play a big part.” On Lukaku: “Romelu is a great player. He’s been injured, which is new for him. He came back after the World Cup and trained well. He still felt a niggle on Saturday and he will be in recovery mode tomorrow. We’ll try to get him back to his best because he’s a big player for us.”

“We’ll try to rest and recover. Options are a bit limited right now, especially in midfield, but I’m satisfied with the performances. It was nice to come from behind today because we’re Inter and we played in front of a great crowd tonight, in a competition in which we are the holders.”