Inzaghi: "I saw a focused and hungry Inter"
Team
— Aug 24th 2024First win of the season for the Nerazzurri, who take the three points thanks to goals from Darmian and Calhanoglu: the coach's comments
The first win of the 2024/25 Serie A season arrived at San Siro, in front of over 70,000 fans. Key to securing the three points against Lecce were Matteo Darmian's early goal in the first half and Calhanoglu's penalty. After the match, Simone Inzaghi analysed the team's performance:
“I was quite relaxed about the match. The players have been training well, and even in Genoa, I saw positive signs. It’s normal that we’re Inter and we always want to win. Lautaro? On Friday morning he woke up with a minor issue, and together with the staff, we decided not to risk him. He’s generous and wanted to be there, but we’re in the early stages of the season, and I’m fortunate to have other players. Tonight, I had eight players on the bench, all ready and having trained well. I have the option to choose, and with one game a week, we can train more consistently. August football isn’t easy for anyone; everyone is struggling. We’ve also struggled, but we’ve had two excellent matches in terms of concentration and performance. Tonight we played the first 35 minutes very intensely, then in the last 10, we conceded a couple of counterattacks. In the locker room, we talked about needing to manage the ball better and occupy spaces more effectively. Lecce played well, but they faced a focused and hungry Inter that wanted the win. Thuram and Taremi? They worked very well for the team. Marcus was excellent in earning a penalty and moved well. Taremi was less flashy but very useful for the team. Tonight was a match of running, aggression, and determination, exactly what we were looking for. Calhanoglu? He played the game we asked of him and did it very well. I’m also pleased with the players who came on; I received excellent signals from them.”