Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi was full of praise for the depth of his squad after a 2-0 victory over Udinese in the last-16 of the Coppa Italia on Thursday.
Inter made nine changes to the team that hammered Lazio 6-0 in Serie A on Monday, but that did not hamper their progression, with goals from Marko Arnautovic and Kritjan Asllani setting up another meeting with Lazio in the quarter-final.
“Clearly this is a great sign. It was an important match, a round of 16, when I say I have 25 starters I mean it,” Inzaghi told a press conference. “I make choices for Inter’s sake, they were very good at reading the game at its best.
“On Monday we won by a wide margin, and even there, there were situations where we could have done better. Today we were up against a worthy opponent and the changes we made didn’t show.
“I am lucky to have a great team. These are clearly very good signs from tonight and now we have to focus on the next matches.”
41 – #Inter have reached the quarter final of the #CoppaItalia for the 41st time out of their 49 in which they have played the Last 16: fewer only than Juventus (43, but in 52 editions). Ski.#InterUdinese
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 19, 2024
The defending Serie A champions are third in the table, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind second-placed Napoli.
Back on league duty on Monday night, they host Como, who are just two points above the relegation zone. But despite his side’s impressive form, Inzaghi was not getting carried away about the challenges that remain this season.
“We know that there will be and there are difficulties, but I’m lucky to have a great team and we have to continue like this knowing that in four days we play another game,” he said.
“We are running but other teams are running with us, not only Atalanta and Napoli but also Fiorentina, Lazio, Juventus and Milan.
“I knew it would be an open league, with pitfalls, and every day you have to be good at recovering strength and energy. My wish is to always have players available, I’m rotating a lot also for this reason.”
