Icardi calls for instant reaction

MILAN – Inter captain Mauro Icardi spoke of the importance of bouncing back at the earliest opportunity after the Nerazzurri were beaten 2-1 by Sampdoria at San Siro on Monday night.

"We have to go again straight away and do as well as we can in the eight games we have left," Icardi told Inter Channel after the final whistle. "We have to focus on performing well to secure European football, then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season.

"We’re disappointed because we started on the front foot and got the goal, but we let our tempo slip and they played better than us. We found it particularly tough in the second half. When you miss so many passes and let your intensity fall, you pay the price.

"We still need to improve in a few areas, things that the big teams playing the league and cup competitions have. We’re lacking a bit of consistency – we need to work on that and focus on doing well in every game. You have to roll your sleeves up and improve when the going gets tough.

"We weren’t thinking about the Torino game. We lacked intensity today and that’s not usually an issue. All of the international players are travelling a lot and some have played two matches. It’s not an excuse – we need to perform well but that could have had an influence."