‘Some couldn’t wait for Inter to slip’, so 6-0 was a reaction

ROME, ITALY – DECEMBER 16: Simone Inzaghi, head coach of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and FC Internazionale at Stadio Olimpico on December 16, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Simone Inzaghi admits ‘some people couldn’t wait’ for Inter to slip away, so they had to respond to critics with a 6-0 demolition of Lazio. ‘I am very proud to be their coach.’

It’s always an emotional return to the Stadio Olimpico for Inzaghi, who spent most of his career with Lazio first as a player and then as a coach, so he was in no mood to gloat after this thumping win.

They ran riot in the capital with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Barella, Denzel Dumfries, Carlos Augusto and Marcus Thuram in the heavy 6-0 result, which is sure to send a message in the Scudetto race.

– Above all, it was important to beat a team that was in an excellent period of form. We didn’t lose our form in the first 20 minutes, then raised the level and after the third goal it was all downhill.” Inzaghi told DAZN.

“These boys have given me this huge effort for three-and-a-half years, I’m very proud to be their coach. We know we haven’t achieved anything yet, but it’s a very good win against a team that was in good form.”

Inter scored with six different players, so does this confirm that the title holders remain the strongest overall squad in the league?

“The judgment will be given on the pitch,” Inzaghi replied.

“That’s the way we prepared the game after Leverkusen, we knew Lazio’s qualities and the boys had the right interpretation. Now we have a game in hand, after the last two in Serie A for this year we have the Supercoppa Italiana and it will be even more complicated.”

Inzaghi hit back at Inter’s critics

Prior to this triumph, Inter had won just one of their head-to-head games this season in Serie A, losing to Milan, drawing against Juventus and Napoli, but also coming off the back of a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

This puts them on 34 points, technically within reach of Atalanta on 37 given that they have a game in hand.

“We’ve been very consistent in the last two-and-a-half months in Serie A, but so have many other teams, including Lazio. You can see the table, it’s still very tight.

“The goal against Parma annoyed me because we didn’t deserve it for the way we played,” Inzaghi said of the 3-1 win that spoiled the clean sheet.

“These boys deserve applause because we’ve played non-stop for a month without Acerbi and Pavard, so we don’t have that many opportunities to rotate. I also had several players booked today so I had to bring Darmian in at centre-back and he did it with great intelligence.”

Inzaghi was praised for the way he has transformed the 3-5-2 tactic from the approach taken by predecessor Antonio Conte at Inter and while trying to deflect the compliments from the DAZN pundits, he took a moment to clap back at critics.

“What I’m most proud of is the way these players put in their effort every time, which is not easy to play at this pace and so often. It’s a great group, I try to rotate as much as possible, because they all deserve to play.

“There were a lot of people who, since we lost to Milan in September, couldn’t wait for us to slip, which we did in Leverkusen. A lot was said, but luckily my players and I don’t listen to the media and stay focused on the game.”