Inzaghi: "An important match, we want to produce a big performance"

APPIANO GENTILE - At 20:45 CET on Saturday 18 February, Inter will face Udinese at San Siro on matchday 23 in Serie A. This is what Simone Inzaghi had to say on the eve of the clash against the Friulani:

Inter created a lot against Sampdoria but were unable to find the net: are you immediately looking to get back to winning ways? "We always aim to win. Luck wasn't on our side in Genoa, although we should have been more ruthless and precise in front of goal. Nevertheless, the team had the right attitude and tried to win the game right up until the 95th minute."

Inter have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games. Now, you'll be coming up a physical and very solid Udinese side: what could make the difference in tomorrow's match? "Our solidity in our last few matches is a real positive. Credit for this goes to everyone because the lads defend together as a unit. We know that tomorrow's game will be tough. We'll be up against a quality side who are strong both physically and technically."

Apart from the Genoa game, Lautaro has been the player in best shape recently and has therefore played the most in attack: with the Champions League coming up, will he need to be rested against Udinese? "We still need to train today and tomorrow. I'll try to make the most appropriate evaluations, but I'll also need every player tomorrow, with this applying to those who start and those who come on."

Barella always puts in a shift and shows quality, but it seems like he's been a bit restless recently. How do you explain this? "Barella cares a lot and gets really fired up; he always wants to win. Sometimes, this energy leads to frustration, but we all know what kind of lad he is. I have great confidence in him and all the other guys."

Is the match against Udinese a 'stress test' with the Champions League in mind? "It's an important game that we need to approach as best we can. I repeat: despite our upcoming Champions League match, we're only focused on Udinese right now."

How much desire for revenge do the team have after the defeat in the reverse fixture? "More than anything, we want to produce a great performance and win in front of our home crowd tomorrow. This comes before any thoughts of revenge." Udinese, Porto, Bologna: how much is on the line for Inter in the next eight days? "They're three very important matches, all in a single week. We'll need to approach them as well as we can, aware that they'll be very different games. At the moment, however, we're only thinking about Udinese."