Inzaghi hails ‘mature’ Inter attitude after another victory | OneFootball

Simone Inzaghi insists Inter deserve a great deal of credit for their 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig, which puts them temporarily top of the Champions League table. ‘I know my team is mature.’

The Nerazzurri were perhaps expecting a slightly more comfortable evening at San Siro, but failed to take their chances and saw a late Henrikh Mkhitaryan goal controversially disallowed over a soft Marcus Thuram foul.

Ultimately, Castello Lukeba accidentally turning a Federico Dimarco free kick into his own net proved sufficient to beat RB Leipzig and put them on 13 points, temporarily top of the Champions League table.

They are also the only side remaining yet to concede a single goal, as Atalanta broke their perfect record with a 6-1 victory away to Young Boys.

“Naturally, we are satisfied, because we knew how important this evening’s game was. It’s true Leipzig have zero points in the table, but until last Saturday they were second in the Bundesliga with the best defence in the league. They have a lot of quality, are well-drilled,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

“We had to maintain a balance and it was not easy against a very aggressive side that presses high. The one issue was not scoring the second goal, but apart from a single Yann Sommer save, we didn’t really suffer very much.”

Inzaghi expected tough night for Inter

RB Leipzig’s forward Lois Openda (C) struggles for the ball with Inter Milan’s midfielder Piotr Zielinski (R) and Inter Milan’s defender Federico Dimarco during the UEFA Champions League between Inter Milan and RB Leipzig at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 26 November 2024. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

Inter had a lot of possession, but ultimately struggled to create many clear scoring opportunities this evening against RB Leipzig.

“I agree that if we look at the amount of possession we had, the Dumfries chance straight after the restart probably could’ve directed the match on a different level, while I have doubts about the disallowed Mkhitaryan goal,” continued Inzaghi.

“Overall though, Openda, Sesko, Nusa, they are all very talented players we were up against and it is no surprise they were in the 2020 semi-final and have been in the Champions League for six years in a row.

“We needed the Inter performance that I wanted and saw, constantly focused and ready to cover every space.”

The Nerazzurri also seemed to lose intensity in the final 20 minutes, so was there a reason for that?

“Without the second goal, we got a bit deeper in the final stages, especially as we knew Leipzig by introducing Sesko could create a goal out of nothing,” concluded Inzaghi.

“With the fixture list the way it is, we need to rotate the squad and we also lost Pavard today, so we hope to have him back soon.”

Benjamin Pavard limped off just before half-time with initial reports pointing to a flexor issue in his left thigh.

With 13 points from six rounds, Inter are now temporarily top of the table awaiting Liverpool on Wednesday night.

“We’re pleased to be there, but also know there is still a big step before we can guarantee a place in the top eight. We’ve got Bayer Leverkusen, then Sparta Prague and Monaco will be tough too,” added Inzaghi.

“We won four in a row without conceding and that too is pleasing, especially considering the quality of the opponents that we faced. I was honestly concerned about this match, but I also knew that my team was mature enough to know that Leipzig’s current position does not reflect the quality of the side.”

Inter reached the Champions League Final in 2023 and it is their target to get back there at the end of the current campaign.

“That is the objective for all the big clubs, especially for me as I am at Inter. We know it is not easy playing every two and a half days, it really takes a lot out of you, so I am fortunate to have these lads. They are all willing to do the extra work,” noted Inzaghi.