Calhanoglu: “I was sure I’d score the penalty”

APPIANO GENTILE  – One of the tensest and most exciting moments of the season came on Sunday when Hakan Calhanoglu stepped up to the spot at Allianz Stadium. His first effort was saved, the Juventus defenders contrived to score an own goal, the referee then blew his whistle and ordered a retake. Hakan picked the ball up again, didn’t take one look at Wojciech Szczesny and scored with a ferocious, unsavable right-footed shot into the corner. The Turkish midfielder sprinted over to the pocket of travelling fans in the corner and celebrated a goal with his team-mates that would be worth three points in the end, as Inter racked up a crucial 1-0 success at Juventus.

“It was a massive penalty, possibly one of the hardest of my career. I missed the first one, but when the referee ordered the retake, I didn’t have any doubts. I knew, actually I was sure that I’d score. I was confident in my technique. I didn’t think about letting any of my team-mates take it instead. I was just focused on scoring and winning,” Calhanoglu explained in an interview with SportMediaset.

“When I scored, I ran over to the Nerazzurri fans and I instinctively wanted to apologise to them for my previous mistake. I know how important this fixture is to them. Inter hadn’t won away to Juventus in ten years.

“The win in Turin gives us a big boost. It’s far from easy to win at Allianz Stadium and even though it wasn’t our best display of the season, what matters at the moment is getting the three points. That also goes for the game against Hellas Verona on Saturday. It’ll be fantastic to play in front of our home crowd, as they always help us out and give us that extra strength.

“We have so much quality and we want success. Inter won the Scudetto last season and had some top players in the squad. Now the new players and I want to achieve success this year as well. We believe and that’s our target.”