MILAN - "Both my players and I believe the best way to respond is not with words but through your performances." This is how Andrea Stramaccioni began his post-match press conference after his side went out to Tottenham despite a wonderful comeback.
"We have taken a huge step forward in terms of our play, we believed right from the first minute, we're still there, we've got ability, we're all together and we want to finish the season on a high. Tonight's performance was our best display in terms of the football we produced. The lads approached the match brilliantly, shrugging off any fear. It's just a shame about the result and the fact we conceded by switching off. Regrets? Obviously you have regrets whenever you go out of a competition. But looking forward this augurs well for the rest of the campaign."
Stramaccioni then spoke about his great relationship with president Massimo Moratti, saying, "the president is incredible, I want to repay him with results. Yesterday he phoned me and said 'Hello Lucescu' and I said 'No, it's the previous coach!' He's extraordinary."
The Nerazzurri coach then spoke about Kovacic, "a player I really wanted, he's the fulcrum of our project for the midfield, he was our playmaker today and put in a great performance."
From the Europa League to Serie A, next up Inter face Sampdoria on Sunday, a match that can't be easy after 120 minutes here tonight: "You can't deny the fact that the Europa League takes its toll in the following game, especially after 120 breathless minutes here, but either way we've taken a big stride forward. Now we get back into league action. But at this time, with all the heavy and sometimes gratuitous criticism that we've come under, had we not been united, it would have torn us apart."
