MY ACCOUNT
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi insists his team will continue to chase Milan and Napoli for the Serie A title after an important 1-0 win at Juventus on Sunday.
A first-half Hakan Calhanoglu penalty was enough for victory in the Derby d’Italia as Inter moved within three points of the top two in the race for the Scudetto.
Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus side will consider themselves unfortunate to have lost, having had 22 shots to the Nerazzurri’s five, while the winning goal was the only effort Inter managed on target all game.
Speaking to DAZN after the win, Inzaghi said: “We can chase Milan and Napoli. We have lost some points that we will try to earn in the last eight games from now to the end. It is still very long, [Milan and Napoli] are the favourites, but some will say that it is us.”
The former Lazio head coach also insisted there was no controversy about the winning penalty when Calhanoglu’s first effort had been saved but the rebound bundled into the net.
The referee initially disallowed the goal and awarded Juve a free-kick, only to then ask for the penalty to be retaken after it emerged Matthijs de Ligt encroached into the box before the first was taken, and Calhanoglu made no mistake at the second time of asking.
“The penalty kick was there, it was already a goal on the rebound and it shouldn’t have been repeated,” Inzaghi said.
Inzaghi also revealed Inter have offered him an extension on his contract, despite rumours he was under pressure after recent results, but added that he will not engage in discussions until the end of the current campaign.
“I have a two-year contract that the club asked me to extend,” he said. “I asked to wait until the end [of the season] because contracts are worth what they are worth.
“I feel the trust of the club, of the fans. I’m very happy with what has been done. We had so much fun for seven months and then some criticisms came out. We have been in football for 30 years and we know which criticisms are constructive and which are artfully created.”
