Inzaghi: “A brilliant performance after just two days to prepare”

MILAN – Inter registered a comfortable 2-0 win over Jose Mourinho’sRoma at the Meazza in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals thanks to a goal in each half. Edin Dzeko kicked things off with the opener from Ivan Perisic’s assist while Alexis Sanchez thumped home the second goal after the interval to book Inter’s place in the semi-finals where they will” face the winners of the tie between AC Milan and Lazio.

“The players did really well and it wasn’t an easy game,” explained Simone Inzaghi to Mediaset. “Roma are a quality team with an excellent squad. We controlled the game very well and deserve to go through to the semi-finals. We came into it off the back of a big setback and I’ve paid tribute to the players because we were able to turn in a top performance after two-and-a-half days of preparation.”

The boss touched on Alessandro Bastoni’s injury which led to the defender being substituted. “We hope it’s nothing serious. The way it happened was unfortunate. We hope not to lose him for a long time because he’s a very important player for us.”

Inzaghi also discussed the way Inter have been controlling games on a regular basis. “It’s not easy to control matches and we’ve been doing that almost all the time. We have to consider our opponents as well and it’s inevitable that there will be times when we have to dig in. There wasn’t much of that tonight, but the team remained compact and focused throughout.”

There was a mention for Ivan Perisic, who served up the assist for the opener just two minutes into the game. “He’s a player who’s performed at a very high level since the start of the year. I’m pleased because he’s doing well, just like his team-mates. Inter are top of the table, through to the last 16 of the Champions League, won the Italian Super Cup and are in the Coppa Italia semi-finals. I can only be happy about what this squad is achieving. There are tough opponents to face and there’s a difficult path ahead of us, but we desperately wanted this win against a Roma side with excellent players and a fantastic coach.”