INTER FALL BACK

After appearing to come closer towards challenging the title in the middle of the campaign, Inter Milan have once again fallen behind the major clubs in Italy. The manager Andrea Stramaccioni has overseen the recent poor run of form, which has seen the club drop into the fifth position. Even though the possibility of finishing in the Champions League places still remains for the club, it has been a disappointing season nonetheless. Instead of coming out with excuses for the poor form, Stramaccioni has said that he would like to take the blame for the club’s inability to win matches recently.

The pressure on the manager mounted after they lost 3-1 at the hands of the relegation threatened Siena during the weekend. This defeat means that Inter Milan have not managed a single victory in the last four matches. As a result, their arch rivals AC Milan have been able to overtake them on goal difference in the table. One of the reasons for Inter Milan slumping to the defeat was the red card given to the defender Cristian Chivu, but the manager refused to blame this incident for the defeat. However, he still believes that the club will be able to finish in the top three at the end of the season.

“It is without doubt an ugly defeat and we are very angry. We had a few players missing but there are no alibis for a poor performance. Despite the fact we lost, we are still only three points away from the Champions League places, so we cannot give up and have to keep fighting. We can still achieve our objective but must find ourselves again, as we are still the team who in November were a point off the leaders and had great ambition,” said the 37-year-old.

DESERVED BETTER

Inter Milan were not deserving of the 3-0 defeat suffered at the hands of Udinese according to the manager of the Milan club Andrea Stramaccioni. The manager has been able to revitalise Inter Milan in a number of ways, but he was unable to prevent from the team slipping to a 3-0 defeat against Udinese. This defeat almost ends any hope of Inter Milan winning the title this season because they have fallen main points behind the leaders Juventus, who have a game in hand. Hence, the gap could be potentially be as large as 12 points by the end of this weekend.

Even though the score reveals an extremely hard match for Inter Milan, they were certainly in with a chance of winning the match until the red card for Juan. The player was sent off after the 65st minute, while Udinese had taken the lead a few minutes earlier through Di Natale. Inter also conceded two goals in the space of 4 min to give the flattening scoreline for Udinese. Stramaccioni has blamed the refereeing decisions in the match by saying that it has once again cost them valuable points. As a result of this defeat, Inter Milan have fallen to the fifth position in the table.

“We had a good first half and the 3-0 result is unfair and does not reflect the real game. Up until the Juan Jesus red card, it was a totally different match. We certainly aren’t fortunate when it comes to refereeing decisions, as once again today there was an incident. Palacio is a very fair player and he should not have been booked for simulation. Maurizio Domizzi put his hand on his neck and unbalanced him, so for me that is a penalty and a red card,” said Stramaccioni after the Udinese match.

FULL OF POTENTIAL

The Inter Milan manager Andrea Stramaccioni has said that he wants his team to realise the full potential and beat the lower opposition as they do against the top teams. Andrea Stramaccioni has been able to get the best out of Inter Milan this season, as he has been able to get the new look team to a position where they are able to challenge for the title with Juventus and Napoli. One of the main reasons for this has been the matches against Juventus and Fiorentina, which have been uncomfortably by Inter Milan despite being the underdogs.

However, they have struggled against lower opposition in the recent times, as the defeats against Parma, Atlanta, and Cagliari show the manager. He has said that the results against Juventus and Fiorentina clearly show that there is a lot of potential within the team, but they need to replicate that in the matches against lower opposition as well if they are to reach the heights of the previous Inter Milan teams. Inter Milan go into the weekend’s match against Palermo on the back of the 1-0 defeat against Parma. Stramaccioni has said that this period of a few days has given him the opportunity to fine-tune his team ahead of this encounter. Parma had just won two matches in the last five prior to this Inter Milan encounter.

“Inter Milan has defeated the best two teams of this league, that is Juventus and Fiorentina, producing two great performances. This has given us the awareness of our potential. We have defeated the league leaders and the team which is said to be playing the best football in Serie A and this has given us confidence. But we have lost points against the smaller teams,” Stramaccioni said ahead of the Palermo encounter on Sunday.

INTER BOSS HAILS PERFORMANCE

The Inter Milan manager Andrea Stramaccioni has hailed the performance of his team after they secured the fifth straight win in all competitions. Andrea Stramaccioni was appointed as a replacement for Claudio Ranieri midway through last season. Many suspected of the ability of the former youth team manager to be able to lead a team full of stars like Diego Milito. However, he has not only been able to get most of the players on his side, but he has also been able to reduce the age and wage bill of the club this season. He has, however, not allowed this to affect the results this season.

In fact, Inter Milan have been at their impressive over the last few weeks then they have been in the last three seasons. The 3-1 win over Bologna during the weekend once again asserted the fact that Inter Milan will be able to challenge both Juventus and Napoli for the title at the end of the season, despite many rejecting them as just Europa league contenders for this season. Inter Milan last suffered a defeat back in September and have since won all the matches in all competitions. This has put them third place in the Italian Serie A table with 21 points on board.

“In my opinion it was a great performance. We are moving forward, and I am pleased with the progress we are making. I’m trying to do my part. I’m proud to be Inter’s coach. When a team wins eight away matches it’s a sign of unity. It means that we are focused and motivated,” said the Inter Milan manager after the win over Bologna. The most important match for Inter Milan in the league this season will be coming in the form of the away trip to Juventus a fortnight away.