Simone Inzaghi isn’t letting himself get distracted with the thought of clinching the Serie A title in the derby against AC Milan.
The Nerazzurri coach spoke in a press conference after his team’s draw against Napoli yesterday, as reported by FCInterNews. He stressed that the team just “stay focused.”
Inter are now fourteen points clear of city rivals AC Milan at the summit of the Serie A table.
The Rossoneri did make up a bit of ground over the weekend. They beat Hellas Verona earlier today, whilst Inter drew against Napoli.
But the gap between the two sides is still a massive one.
So there is certainly a sense that it is a question of “when” rather than “if” Inter make it mathematically certain that they will finish the season as Serie A champions.
And that question could have an interesting answer.
Inter need fourteen points from their last nine matches in order to make sure that they clinch the Scudetto.
And they face Milan next month. There is a very real chance that that match could give Inter the chance to clinch the title either by winning or by drawing.
Inzaghi: Inter Not Getting Carried Away Thinking About Clinching Title Vs AC Milan
Naturally it would represent something of a derby coup if Inter could get their hands on the title with a win over Milan.
But from the perspective of Nerazzurri coach Inzaghi, that’s not all that relevant.
What matters is getting it done.
“We don’t think about that stuff,” the Inter coach made clear.
“We stay focused on what we have to. We’re not doing these calculations in our head, we’re just concentrating on the matches we have because each one has potential pitfalls.”
And of French international duo Benjamin Pavard and Marcus Thuram, Inzaghi said that “We’re very happy with both of them.”
“Pavard was playing well,” he said of the 27-year-old former Bayern Munich defender, who came off as a halftime substitute against Napoli.
“But he had gotten booked. And he was coming off the back of playing 120 minutes on Wednesday, and I was afraid of him getting another yellow.”
“He would never have come off otherwise,” the Inter coach made clear.
And of striker Thuram, Inzaghi made his view clear that “He played a great match.”
And Inzaghi took stock of Inter’s situation heading into the international break.
“Clearly, analyzing from the beginning of this year, we’ve had an incredible path,” the coach said.
“We have a fourteen-point advantage with nine matches to go.”
“We’re disappointed about how tonight went,” Inzaghi said of drawing against Napoli.
“We wanted to win in front of our fans, who gave us a great welcome. We did well for seventy minutes, but then the fatigue started to set in and we lost some of our compactness.”
“But even then we allowed nothing, except for the goal from a corner. And that was just a lack of attention on marking.”
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