Inzaghi on Calhanoglu and ‘hardest thing’ Inter need to do against Milan | OneFootball

Simone Inzaghi warned his Inter side that things are about to ‘get serious’ and maintaining ‘consistency’ is the key to putting in a positive performance against Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.

The Nerazzurri coach said his players will need to be ‘aggressive and determined’ if they want to pick up points against the city rivals, who have already defeated them twice this season, with the recent loss in the Supercoppa Italiana final highlighting how Inzaghi’s side must learn to be ‘stronger than those episodes’ and ‘sharper’ at crucial moments during the games.

LECCE, ITALY – JANUARY 26: Head coach of FC Internazionale Simone Inzaghi looks on prior the Serie A match between Lecce and FC Internazionale at Stadio Via del Mare on January 26, 2025 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

Inzaghi: Milan are a ‘great team’, Inter must learn to ‘react differently’

“We all know what a derby means, it will be an intense game with many challenges,” Inzaghi told at a pre-match press conference, as quoted by TMW.

“Milan are a great team, with a lot of quality in individual players. We’ll need an aggressive and determined Inter.

“We know the value of the opponent. This year, the first two derbies didn’t go well. The first one, Milan deserved to win, they played well.

“In the second one in Riyadh, we were in control but needed to handle key moments better: the first goal came from a foul on Asllani that wasn’t called. But we should have reacted better, and we need to be sharper in decisive moments of the game, as those moments can turn the match against you in football.”

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 06: Christian Pulisic of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Italian Super Cup Final between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Kingdom Arena on January 06, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi have returned to full training, but Inzaghi looked doubtful when asked whether the Turkish midfielder will be able to take his place back in midfield from the start against Milan.

“I saw him in good shape, he did a good job, but I need to make further evaluations,” the coach explained.

“As of now, there’s a higher chance he won’t start, but we still have today’s session and tomorrow morning. I’ll have to assess him and also carefully evaluate the other players who played in Wednesday’s match.

“We’ve had 16 games in two months, almost an entire half-season in two months, and we’ve done well to reach the top eight in the Champions League.”

Inzaghi then insisted that he can ‘only praise’ his team for how they’ve behaved in recent months but also stressed the importance of keeping up such consistency when reporters asked him what he expects from his players in Sunday’s Milan derby.

“The continuity we’ve had since August,” the Nerazzurri boss remarked.

“I can only praise the team for their performance over the last five months. We’ve done very well in both the league and Champions League: many teams didn’t make it to the top eight, and the team deserves all the credit.

“But we know that from February onwards, things get serious, and we need to maintain that consistency.”

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 06: Sergio Conceicao, Head Coach of AC Milan, celebrates after Christian Pulisic of AC Milan (not pictured) scores his team’s second goal during the Italian Super Cup Final between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Kingdom Arena on January 06, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

Inzaghi was uninterested in commenting on the celebratory scenes after Milan’s win in the Supercoppa Italiana which involved coach Sergio Conceição smoking a cigar in the locker room.

“I’m not interested in what happened off the field,” he claimed.

“What matters is that we’ve looked at what we did well and what we did wrong on the field.

“A match consists of many moments and episodes, and we need to react differently next time. Previous matches don’t affect what happens on the pitch, we came into this match with a positive streak, now we’re on a negative one, and we need to do better.

“We’ve talked about continuity. I don’t want to comment on other teams whose situations I don’t know.

“I can only speak about Inter, and I’ve said that in these five months, we’ve had great consistency, which we need to maintain.

“The hardest thing is staying at a high level and remaining competitive, and we’ll need to be very good at it.”