Inter, Inzaghi asks for the last effort

Now the imperative becomes not to stop. Because on Wednesday there is the first leg Euro-derby, then Sassuolo will follow (and three fundamental points for participation in the next Champions League), the return Euro-derby, Napoli, the Italian Cup final against Fiorentina … And, Inzaghi hopes, this will continue until June 10, when the final that everyone would like to play is on the calendar in Istanbul. This is not the time to give up, to lift your foot off the accelerator, to decrease the intensity in training. He said it in the locker room and he will repeat it again in the next few days, in the next few hours. The team put many things right, all apart from the Scudetto race, thanks to a string of five victories which had been preceded by another virtual success (3-3 in the return match against Benfica, beaten 2-0 at the Da light). The beauty comes now because everything is still up for grabs. It’s hard to imagine it a few weeks ago, when the bench was shaking thanks to 11 defeats in the league and a qualification for the next Champions League that seemed more uphill than now.

INTENSE DERBY

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Against Milan Simone expects a complicated double challenge for three reasons: 1) Pioli’s men against Lazio gave an important response after the 1-1 draw with Cremonese; 2) the stakes are very high and the pressures will be enormous; 3) the Rossoneri will want to redeem the two consecutive defeats, the first of which cost the Italian Super Cup. On an emotional level, the Nerazzurri coach and his staff know that a Champions League semi-final, this one in particular (ie the Milan derby), prepares itself. In the next few hours, however, there will be video sessions to study all possible tactical solutions. Translated: with Leao on the pitch or with the Portuguese off. Because against Sarri’s men, when the former Lilla player went out injured, the Devil responded with a great performance.

SOLID AND “DIRTY” INTER

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The former Lazio coach expects to see an Inter as solid as that of the Olimpico. Not spectacular, but solid. The latter is the key word. Above all in a moment of the season in which fatigue weighs heavily on the muscles, absences are felt more (Skriniar’s is a “boulder”; the returns of D’Ambrosio and, shortly, Gosens are important) and the dream of playing Champions League final can cloud ideas. That’s why he will ask for clarity and concentration from start to finish. As happened in Rome, when the team conceded little, even on dead balls (prepared with maniacal attention), and thus won a “dirty” game. The same application will be needed against Milan. The one that Inter has always shown in the European cups. In his two seasons, Inzaghi has given the viale della Liberazione club back a dimension that, in the Champions League, had been lost for some time. Thanks first to the missed qualifications and then the three eliminations in the group stage with Spalletti (one) and Conte (two). At this point, with the possibility of winning the Italian Cup, of guaranteeing a pass for the next Champions League and even of gaining access to the final of the most prestigious European cup, however, it is not the time to think about what has been done in the last three weeks. He will ask for a … last month-long effort to achieve the minimum goal set by the company (fourth place) and go … further on other fronts. An unforgettable page in Nerazzurri history could be written this May and, despite the undoubted difficulties and the many rumors that he didn’t like, Simone wants to give it a try.