Inzaghi: "It will be a challenging match: maximum concentration required"

APPIANO GENTILE - The league is back after the international break and a big game awaits Inter. The clash with Juventus is scheduled for Sunday 26 November at 20:45 CET at the Allianz Stadium in Torino. On the eve of the game, Simone Inzaghi spoke to journalists in a press conference.

Tomorrow, two of the best defences in Serie A will face each other. Both sides have also scored the most goals through defenders, strange as they approach games very differently. What are the similarities between the two sides? And what can the defensive stats mean?

"More than anything tomorrow will be a big, challenging game in a full ground: first and second in the table are going up against each other. We know what Juventus vs. Inter means, it will be important for both sides who have had a great start and are defending well as a team. It will see two sides with similar formations face each other and there will be many challenges where we need to do well”.

Did you expect Juventus to be in this position? 

"Yes, Juventus has Allegri and is a squad that always wants to win, like Inter. They have big ambitions and this year they also have more time to prepare for games. We aren’t hiding it, we take on our responsibilities and this is a push for us to improve every day. There are moments when people say Inter are unbeatable, others when they say we are weaker, but these conversations depend on the results”.

How is Cuadrado? How did the choice to leave him out come about? 

"I have great players who are very responsible and have played many important games. We have many players that were back after 10 days with their respective national sides, it seemed right to give them a bit of time with their families, also as now we will play three away games in a row. Tomorrow we won’t have Bastoni or Pavard, we will assess Cuadrado and Sanchez today. Cuadrado trained for a full session yesterday, he had this tendon issue that we suffered from, but he is a huge asset”.

How important will a win be from a psychological perspective? 

"It counts for a lot, but I don’t consider this a decisive game. It will be important to our league campaign, but we will be in the third spot only tomorrow, there are still a lot of games. We know what this game means to us, the Club and our fans”.

What would it mean to go there tomorrow and impose yourselves? 

"Clearly we will try to play our football, we have a good squad in front of us, compact and that defends well. Juventus has players that can change the game at any moment: we need to be extremely focused for all the 95 minutes, it is always difficult to play a side liek Juventus”

You have a good record against Allegri in cup games, less so in the league: how come? 

"Every game is different against Juventus: we have won many in the last few years including finals two years ago and the semi-final of the Italian Cup last season. In the championship last year we suffered two different defeats: in Turin in the first fixture we played an excellent game, but we didn't make the most of the chances, in the second we lost focus and couldn’t catch up. We worked on this in the few days we had available, as did Juventus."

Would you settle for a draw? 

"No, personally I’d never settle for a draw, in any game, apart from in a return leg after winning the first game. We will play our game conscious of the difficulties like in the last away games. From now until the 23 December, we will play 8 games, the next 3 are away and there will be two challenging Champions League matches too".

Allegri has more time to prepare given their lack of cup games, would you ever swap with him? 

"No of course, but I also think that Juventus and Allegri always want to play European football. Being left out was a disappointment for them, but regarding the league, it will be an advantage. We saw it in the first 4 games: they were different, it’s always something to have a week available rather than 2 days to prepare for a game”.

How are the internationals?

"They have come back fairly well, like after the other breaks. They have proved that more than anything from a mental perspective, especially the Italians who have prepared for matches whether playing or not. I found them to be good and happy because of qualifying, Lautaro, Sommer and Thuram. Carlos and Sanchez lost and so were a little less happy, but they will have time to make up for it."

Inter players have done more away than Juventus players this season and have picked up more playing time: how do the players overcome this tiredness? 

"You need to help them recover in the best way possible. This time, playing on Sunday has given an extra day to those coming back, apart from the South Americans. The games they go to play are important, they take a huge mental toll, more than the minutes played”.

What do you think of the renewals of important players? Do you expect to see Locatelli, with Rabiot marking Barella? 

"I don’t know what will happen with Juventus players, only Allegri can answer that. I don’t know if the renewals are official, but I would be very happy for my important players, they deserve it and it would be an big sign for Inter and the president to keep hold of three very important people who play for Inter”.

Allegri hides his ambitions when he says they are aiming for the Champions League? 

"I don't take part in gossip, but I don't hide Inter's ambitions. I always tell the Club, the fans and the players that we must always focus on the next match without thinking further ahead. We hope to play as many matches as possible as has happened in the last few years"

You have conceded less than Juventus: is your football the best in Italy? 

"That’s not for me to judge, these are judgments that are sometimes influenced by the match that will be played. Defensively we are working well, but it’s not just the defenders, it is a job that includes the whole team starting from the front. We're almost a third of the way through the season but for now, we're providing great solidity."

How has Calhanoglu most imporoved? 

"He is on a great path: the first time I saw him was at Milan, an attacking winger in a 4-2-3-1. I thought that he was really good, then we brought him in to play in the midfield and then moved him after Brozovic’s problem. I thought that he would be able to cover this role, he moved out of necessity but he has given me a lot of confidence and has shown he likes to play there”.

In the championship in Turin, you have won when you deserved to lose and lost when you deserved to win. What can we learn from the previous matches against Juventus?

"It seems like a fair assessment to me. Making predictions is not easy, there will be moments where we will be aggressive and others where we will all have to suffer together. It will take a lot of focus. Juventus is a team with physically strong and quality players, we will need to pay great attention."