Inzaghi: "A good test despite the result"

Inter’s third pre-season outing finished in a 1-0 defeat, with Openda’s stoppage-time goal winning it for Lens. This is what Simone Inzaghi had to say to Inter TV after the match:

“We faced a side who are further ahead in their preparations than us, and it was a good test. We could have done better in the first half despite the difference in fitness levels, but the team played well in the second half. We had two or three chances that we could have made more of, and conceding a late goal is a pity; we don’t like losing friendlies either. We knew the difficulties that such a match would present in a stadium full of fans, but difficulties are what we’re looking for in these friendlies.” Where do Inter need to improve? “Our fitness levels, but we were aware of this when we planned the friendlies in this way. We deserved to score in the second half; we wasted two big chances that we should have converted and then conceded in the 90th minute. We’re disappointed, but we’re heading in the right direction. Three weeks of work now await as we look to be ready come the start of the league season. The players who have come in have responded well, and we’re trying to get them up to the same level as the others. Through these last two friendlies, we’ve allowed everyone to get more minutes under their belts. With another two friendless coming up in the next couple of weeks, we’ll try to improve our physical shape still further.”