After loss, Inter focus on Serie A
Milan, Dec. 28: Inter Milan turn their focus back to their flagging Serie A campaign after their Italian Cup derby flop hosting Lazio on Saturday looking to keep pace with leading duo Napoli and Juventus who are jostling to end 2017 on top.
Luciano Spalletti’s side — third in Serie A five points behind leaders Napoli — have now suffered three consecutive losses and face a tough task against fifth- placed Lazio to keep their Scudetto ambitions on track.
A defeat to the Romans would see Inter drop further behind the leaders as Napoli look set to end 2017 top of the Italian football league table for the second time in three years at t h i r d - f r o m - b o t t o m Crotone on Friday.
Napoli have 45 points from 18 games ahead of their trip further south to Calabria, just one ahead of Juventus, who saw off title- rivals AS Roma 1- 0 last weekend, and travel to second- from- bottom Verona on Saturday.
Inter are third two points ahead of Roma with Lazio a further two points back in fifth with the two teams from the capital both having a game in hand.
Spalletti was scathing of his players, including leading Serie A scorer Mauro Icardi and winger Ivan Perisic after a 1- 0 extra- time defeat to Milan which ended their Italian Cup ambitions.
“It seems as if here they want to convince you that that’s how it works, that you can perform below par, that it can happen,” said Spalletti whose side focus on Serie A with no European football this season.
“Before there was total conviction in our qualities. You can see they can’t recapture that. On a psychological level, we must turn a corner, and realise that we should do more.” — AFP