Spalletti: "We improved a lot in the second half"  

BERGAMO – Nerazzurri coach Luciano Spalletti made the following comments after the goalless draw away at Atalanta: "In the first half, we didn't play well. We made too many mistakes and the opposition made the most out of their key characteristics. They caused us loads of problems thanks to their physicality and pressing. In the first half, we didn't have the right quality or the necessary pace to pose any threat, whilst after half-time we played a lot better. We stuck to the game plan that we prepared and created four or five clear chances. We were in the game right until the final whistle and got in and around the opposition box several times but then made mistakes with the final ball."

Inter come out of the game having not scored in the past three matches. "I don’t see any particular issue in this regard. Again today at a place that is difficult to visit, our performance was there. In a match such as this, it’s difficult to get the ball up to Icardi cleanly and he needs to drop and play with the rest of the team, passing it around with his teammates. On our part, we’ve played well in the past three matches apart from the first half today but the team is alive and it’s created various chances to score."

Finally, there was a comment on Rafinha’s substitution. "He was certainly sorry about the chance that he had just before but I’m not worried about him at all. He’s an exemplary professional and a really strong player."