Inzaghi says there is no 'special recipe for winning finals' ahead of Coppa Italia decider

By Sports Desk May 10, 2022

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi says there is no "special recipe for winning finals" ahead of the Coppa Italia decider against Juventus on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old boss guided Lazio to the Coppa Italia title in 2018-19, along with winning the Supercoppa in 2017 and 2019.

Inzaghi also led the Nerazzurri to the Supercoppa crown earlier this season, prompting hopes his excellent record in cup finals bodes well for Inter.

"We're already very proud to be here for such an important game," Inzaghi told reporters.

"I don't think there are any special recipes for winning finals. You need to run hard, be determined and focused.

"We'll have to give 120 per cent to lift our second trophy of the season."

The Coppa Italia final comes amid Inter's title chase, sitting second two points behind Milan with two games to play.

Inzaghi admitted re-focusing their energy away from the league to the cup would bring a unique challenge.

"That’s something we’ve spoken about," he said. "It probably would've been better to play the final at the end of the Serie A campaign, but the structure was set out at the start of the year.

"I’ve been involved in finals as a player and as a coach, and I don’t think it’s a problem to play just before the end of the league season."

Inzaghi has collected a record points tally in his first season in charge in the league, with the side firmly in contention for the Scudetto, having won the Supercoppa.

But the common view on the success of Inzaghi's first campaign may be determined by their final few games, as they chase both the Serie A and Coppa titles.

"I owe everything to the team, as the players have always backed me," Inzaghi said.

"It's been a brilliant season. It's match number 50 now. We played wonderful football for seven or eight months, but then suffered a dip and dropped some points, but if I think back to how we played against Liverpool and the way we’ve reached the final, I have no bad words to say about the team."

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  • Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw

    Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.

    The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target - one fell to Milan and two to Juve - while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.

    Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).

    "When you don't win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I'd do the same," Fonseca told DAZN.

    "I'm not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly."

    Milan's only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.

    They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.

    "It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us," Fonseca said.

    "We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.

    "We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.

    "The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn't take any offensive risks."

    When asked if seventh-placed Milan - on 19 points with a game in hand - still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.

    "It's difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points," he said.

  • Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan

    While Juventus' 0-0 draw with Milan offered little entertainment at San Siro, Thiago Motta was happy with his side's performance. 

    The scoreless draw brought little in the way of chances for either side but it allowed Juventus to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, where they have kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games.

    Motta became just the fifth Juventus manager to not lose any of his first 13 matches on the Bianconeri bench in Serie A history (W6 D7) – after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.

    The match only included three shots on target, with only one of those falling to Milan as they struggled to trouble their visitors.

    "I am satisfied with the work we have done, especially defensively," Motta told DAZN.

    "We didn't concede anything to the opponents; open play is their strong point, and we managed to block them."

    Juve have drawn seven of their league games already this season but Motta was content to take another point considering the growing injury list he has to contend with.

    Dusan Vlahovic missed the trip to Milan with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty and Juve were already without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal and Bremer.

    "This point can give continuity to us for our work. I'm proud of my players because in the situation we are in we put in a good performance," Motta added.

    "I am satisfied with tonight's work and many things. So far we have to be happy, the path is the right one."

  • Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi

    Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.

    The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.

    Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.

    "Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.

    "I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."

    Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.

    Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.

    Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.

    Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.

    "It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.

    "I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."

    Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.

    "We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.

    "I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."

    Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).

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