Alessandro Bastoni jokes about his assist for Federico Dimarco and what Simone Inzaghi told him after the substitution as Inter beat Empoli. ‘It was the worst of the lot.’
It was not perhaps as simple as the 2-0 result would suggest at San Siro, as Emil Audero had to make at least one big save, but Federico Dimarco and Alexis Sanchez finished off smart team moves.
Bastoni also came close when thumping the frame of the goal with his surge forward from defence.
“We started strong, we wanted to get it done quickly, but Empoli are well-structured, their coach brought a lot of enthusiasm and I hope they can stay in Serie A,” Bastoni told DAZN.
This was the centre-back’s third game in a row providing an assist and he almost scored too.
“That was perhaps the worst assist of the lot, Dimarco’s goal made it look better. We are happy, because we were coming off the break for international duty and it is never easy to get points after travelling all over the world.”
The victory means Inter maintain their 14-point lead at the top of the table and need another 11 points to be sure of their 20th Scudetto.
They are also on track to potentially set a new all-time record of 103 Serie A points in a single season, yet confidence was low going into the break for international duty after Champions League elimination to Atletico Madrid and a 1-1 draw with Napoli.
“It was a tough period, we played every three days for months, so were physically tired. If you can call that a negative moment, it is practically impossible to win every match…”
Inzaghi whispered something to Bastoni and they laughed after he was substituted, so what was it?
“He said I was tired and when I don’t sprint forward that means I need a rest! It was a joke, it’s fun. We don’t care how we do it, we just want to win this title for the fans, as we are proud to represent them.”
There were six Italians in the starting XI for Inter this evening, so with Luciano Spalletti switching tactics to 3-4-2-1 for Italy, can Bastoni see similarities?
“They are different coaches, Inzaghi and Spalletti ask for different things, but there is a great sense of harmony in both camps.”
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