Inzaghi: ‘Inter not anchored to a single player’ | OneFootball

Simone Inzaghi praised Mehdi Taremi for his full Inter debut in a 2-0 win over Lecce, warning they must ‘not be anchored’ to any individual player.

The Nerazzurri got their first win of the season, following the surprise opening 2-2 draw away to Genoa.

They found the net twice tonight too, with Matteo Darmian’s early header and a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, to get the better of Lecce at San Siro.

“We always need to have hunger, but I have no doubts, as the lads are training well. I think we had a good game against Genoa on Saturday, even when conceding two avoidable goals,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

“We are Inter, we always want to win, so naturally we weren’t happy this week, but I had seen some positive signs regardless of the unsatisfactory result.”

Inzaghi sees importance of Inter collective

This victory was achieved without captain and talismanic striker Lautaro Martinez, so Taremi formed a new partnership with Marcus Thuram.

“On Friday morning, Lautaro woke up with pain, so along with the medical staff we decided not to risk him. He’s a generous player, so he wanted to be there, but it’s early in the season, we’ll try to ensure he is in good shape for next Friday.”

Inzaghi has already been making other changes too, but will squad rotation be ramped up when the Champions League begins?

“We must not be anchored to Lautaro, Barella, Calhanoglu or anyone else. We won last season because everyone gave their contribution. I liked the way Taremi fought for 95 minutes today, he was always working to help the team. Marko Arnautovic also came on with a great spirit and that’s what a coach wants to see.”

Piotr Zielinski is still waiting for his Inter debut, having missed the first game through injury, with Stefan de Vrij and Tajon Buchanan also out of action.

“I had eight players on the bench, I told them all to get warmed up at half-time. I have the opportunity to make choices at this time, we’re working well, the lads are professional and work for the good of the group.”

While Inter were dominant last season, there have been big changes around Serie A, including Juventus who today secured deals for Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao.

“We have to look only at ourselves. Other teams are strengthening, they have our same objectives, it is difficult to play in August temperatures, so it’s a struggle even for fixtures that on paper ought to be easier,” noted Inzaghi.

“I saw us with the right level of concentration and commitment in both games so far this season.”