Spalletti: "We need to always play like that"

UDINE - "I saw what I was expecting to see after the Juventus match. The team did well, it trained well during the week and took to the pitch in the right way. We took control of the match straight away, creating various chances to score. I have to congratulate the guys, they were exceptional." This was how Luciano Spalletti started in his post-match analysis after Udinese vs. Inter on matchday 36 of the Serie A season where the Nerazzurri picked up a well-deserved win thanks to goals from Ranocchia, Rafinha, Icardi and Borja Valero.

"My job is to finish the season well," added the Inter Coach. "The team has developed a lot in this recent period and it needs to keep showing this. In the second half, we lost the ball a bit too much. Our mentality cannot be affected by individual episodes and we must always show who we are. These performances are important for the future of Inter, we always have to do the same things to make a difference and leave our mark on matches. We’re a great team and we cannot allow ourselves to drop off in terms of intensity or quality." 

"Icardi? He’s a top player and an exceptional finisher. He has the quality to score goals and he also knows where the ball is heading so he doesn’t have to chase it. In regard to this skill, he is the best player I’ve ever worked with. He can still improve on his work outside the penalty area, although he is deadly in front of goal."

"Rafinha? He proved today that he can also score goals and we are pleased with this. We’ve recently been joking about it in training. Him and Cancelo are two pieces that we’d been missing. We had to wait for them because they were both coming back from injuries and we had to spend time sorting out certain issues."

“We won many matches at the start of the season, but we’ve grown a lot since then. We received a lot of praise from the Inter support today. They saw a strong set of players and they know a good team when they see one.”