Inzaghi: "Ready for a hectic run - in"

MILAN – Simone Inzaghi was a happy man after the Nerazzurri produced an impressive display to beat Jose Mourinho's Roma 3-1.

First-half goals by Denzel Dumfries and Marcelo Brozovic set Inter on their way, then Lautaro Martinez headed home a third before Henrikh Mkhitaryan grabbed a late consolation.

“What I'm most happy with about today's game is the way we stayed focused throughout,” the coach declared after the final whistle. “I was very worried about this match because we'd given so much in the derby and we were up against another great team today who were unbeaten in 12 games. We needed a first-rate performance and the lads were magnificent. This is a crucial win.”

Lautaro Martinez continued his rich vein of form with another goal after scoring twice in midweek.

“He just needed a goal to get going again. It was never a problem because he was always creating chances and always trained well. Now he's hit form again and has to keep it up, like our other forwards."

Inzaghi then commented on the tactical aspects of the match.

“We knew Roma's defenders' would press our forwards aggressively and that we could get some joy with our wing-backs. [Ivan] Perisic, Dumfries and [Robin] Gosens did really well in attacking the space. Dumfries was fresh because Darmian played on Tuesday – and did superbly too. I'm very happy with how Gosens is doing and his time will come.

“We were up against a team that pressed very high and man-marked Brozovic and [Stefan] de Vrij. The lads did well to recover quickly after our cup match and were excellent today but we know this is just the start because we're still chasing. On Wednesday we'll finally play Bologna and then we'll be on a level field with the others

“It's an intense period and we have the Coppa Italia final coming up too. We're going to have to be very clever to manage our mental and physical energy with the hectic run we have ahead of us but we're ready for it. I've seen lots of positive signs in the last few matches.”

Asked about Jose Mourinho, the boss replied: “Mourinho is a special coach and a special person. We spoke a lot before the Coppa Italia game. It's very enjoyable to talk about football with him. We wished each other good luck for the coming games.”