Inzaghi: Inter-Milan derby ‘special’, Lautaro ‘doing great even if he isn’t scoring’ | OneFootball

Simone Inzaghi is excited to lead Inter into his 13th derby match against Milan on Monday evening, believes that his side have a firm chance of picking up their ‘first’ trophy of the season, and is not worried about Lautaro Martinez’s lack of form in terms of goals in recent weeks.

The Nerazzurri coach sat down for his customary pre-match press conference on Sunday, ahead of the Supercoppa Italiana final against rivals Milan in Riyadh on Monday night.

On the prospect of picking up another trophy for his Inter collection, Inzaghi told the press: “The derby is a special match, it’s exciting. The first trophy of the season is up for grabs. It’s my 13th derby since I’ve been in Milano, they’ve all been different games so far. It reminds me of wonderful matches, like the one in the Champions League semi-final.

“We also remember the last one, it was a defeat where we deserved to lose. We’ll try and avoid the mistakes we made in that game, knowing that Milan has changed coach and has quality players.”

Youssouf Fofana of Milan and Lautaro Martinez of Inter (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Supercoppa Italiana final will be Sergio Conceicao’s second match in charge of Inter’s opponents, Milan.

The last time that Inzaghi and Conceicao faced each other was in the Champions League, while the Portuguese was still in charge of Porto. That game ended with fiery interactions between the players on the pitch.

Inzaghi does not have any issues with Conceicao on a personal level, though.

“We haven’t seen or spoken to each other since, but nothing extraordinary happened. It was a round of 16 game. We were together for many years, and shared a dressing room. We had a great teacher in (Sven-Göran) Eriksson, who led many of us players into the coaching profession.”

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 03: Sergio Conceicao, Head Coach of AC Milan, gives the team instructions during the Italian Super Cup Semi-Final match between AC Milan and Juventus at Al Awwal Park on January 03, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

And on the challenge that Conceicao’s Milan will pose Inter, Inzaghi added: “It’s only been one game so far. Conceicao is a coach who brings a lot of organisation to his teams. Juventus seemed to have the game under control in the first half, then Milan played a great second period.

Inzaghi on Lautaro Martinez lack of goalscoring form for Inter

Though he had a couple of chances, Inter captain Lautaro Martinez did not manage to get on the scoresheet during the 2-0 win over Atalanta in the Supercoppa semi-final.

On the goalscoring form of his captain, the Inter coach said: “Lautaro is really important, I’ve said it so many times. He’s a great captain, he’s inherited a demanding armband and has managed it in the best possible way.

“I was a striker as well, even if I wasn’t as good as him, so I know what it means when you don’t always score, as he’s been accustomed to throughout his career.

“He played a great game (against Atalanta), like many others when he didn’t score. I think he’s calm, I see him in good shape. The team is winning, we have to continue like this and appreciate the fact that he is fundamental for us.”

MILAN, ITALY – AUGUST 30: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Davide Zappacosta of Atalanta during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Atalanta at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 30, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

One journalist asked whether the Inter players are looking for Lautaro too regularly on the pitch.

Inzaghi replied: “All my teams have always looked to the striker to score goals, and they have always scored. The team is also looking for Thuram, Arnautovic, Correa and Taremi. We are trying to get the best out of them while knowing that we are also scoring a lot of goals from other areas, too.

“In the meantime, let’s see how Thuram does today in training. He will try to train, but when we return we will have six games in 18 days. We will not take risks and we will still make evaluations.”

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Milan may still have to do without Rafael Leao for the match against Inter on Monday, but the Portugal international did train with his teammates on Saturday, according to recent reports.

“Leao is an important player,” Inzaghi said. “Like many that we have, we will see tomorrow who starts.”

“We have watched Milan and we’ll watch them again today, focussing on what we have to do. They have a quality squad, with players full of pace and energy.

“We analysed the first leg of the derby, even though it was a different coach, as well as the semi-final against Juventus. We know what we will have to do. We have to be good at managing the ball when we have it.”