Piovani: "A fantastic team performance, now consistency is needed"

“I told the girls that if we wanted to give real value to the win in Rome, we needed to put in a big performance today – and above all, we needed to win. And that’s exactly what we did. I’d already said some time ago that our season would truly start today against Genoa, because we were getting three or four important players back, and they all came on today. However, it actually began two weeks ago with the win over Lazio in Rome: we put in a fantastic performance there. I’m happy for the girls, because they deserve it – for what they give in training, for how they conduct themselves, and for their attitude. Today’s win is a reward for them, and, above all, it gives us confidence and sends a message both to ourselves and to the other teams. In our last three matches, including the one against Häcken, we haven’t conceded, which is a big positive. We’ve also scored a lot, which is a good sign for what’s ahead. There was a period when we had to play four or five matches in a row every three days, and we were a bit short in numbers. But I always knew this team was strong: we regrouped, and today we also got two or three players back who made a contribution. We were able to give everyone minutes, and that will help us prepare for next week’s derby. Today, we delivered a great performance, and we have to build on the last three games and continue on this path. Work remains the priority: working on ourselves and on the opponents we’re going to face. If we perform well, we’ll reach the goals we’ve set; if we’re not quite at our best, we’ll still have reasons to be pleased, because these girls are giving so much despite the difficulties of the past. We’re now getting everyone back, and that’s a huge advantage. We always need to enter the pitch aiming to win, just as we did today. We have everything we need to do it, but we need great humility and, above all, the ruthlessness we showed today: when we wanted to score, we did, and we managed our lead well. These are the details that make the difference.”

“It’s our third straight match without conceding, including the game against Häcken, and we’ve picked up two wins in the process. I think we’ve shown our value through our performances. The win against Lazio was pleasing, as is today’s victory. We put in a great performance against Lazio and finally got back to winning ways – that was the key turning point. We prepared well for this match against Genoa and had good feelings going into it. Scoring five goals and keeping another clean sheet is the best way to move forward. I think throughout the season we’ve put in some great performances, even if we haven’t been able to win every match and went out of Europe. Now, all our focus is on the league. We’ll now think about AC Milan before switching our attentions to the Coppa Italia.”

“This is a really important win for us, because we’ve come through a bit of a rough patch and these three points mean a lot. I hope we can keep going in this direction. I’m very happy – first because I get to play for a club like Inter, and then for everything else that comes with it. For me, this is just the beginning, and now we have to keep pushing and stay on this path. I’m expecting a tough derby, because AC Milan also won their last match. It’s going to be a great game.”