APPIANO GENTILE - Eight goals since the start of the season. Rodrigo Palacio has made his best ever start to a campaign. The forward spoke about this amongst other things in an interview with Sky Sport 24's Massimiliano Nebuloni: "Yes, I think the whole team deserves credit, my team-mates who pass me the ball, as well as the coach's system which definitely benefits me.
"Mazzarri always tells me I need to go high up the pitch - because I'm the only striker - but I have to show a lot of movement so that my team-mates can find me near the goal. Nothing's changed compared with before, I still play in the same way."
Of the goals El Trenza has scored this season, which is his favourite? "Maybe the first one against Genoa because I was one-on-one with the keeper." His best ever strike in an Inter shirt though remains "the one against Bologna in the Coppa Italia last year."
Palacio is well aware of what a big miss Diego Milito is: "It's not only me that misses him, but the whole of Inter. He is the most important player, a player who makes the difference and, if he'd been available, I think we'd have more points at this stage. Do I feel a bit lonely up there on my own? No, there's Guarin and Ricky who get into goalscoring positions, lots of us do and it works well for me."
What about the Argentine's thoughts on the Nerazzurri's season so far, after a tricky campaign last term? "We've started well, at our training camp in Pinzolo the coach worked very hard and we did everything he told us to so that we could come into good form for our competitive fixtures and I think we're having a good season. Juventus, Napoli and Roma never drop points and it's not easy to keep up with them."
Inter have let leads slip in the last few games, another subject Palacio touched upon: "These are things we need to improve on, we were talking about it with the coach and the whole team. Is Alvarez right when he says we not quite crafty enough? Every team is missing something. This is a young side, on the up, but we need to keep going as we are because we're on the right track and we're having a great season."
Next up, Udinese, will it be like a final for the Nerazzurri? "It will for us, yes, we have to go to Udine to win. We know it will be a difficult game, their strikers are very good and we need to be careful for 90 minutes so we can return to Milan with three points."
Does Palacio still think the Champions League is a feasible target? "We need to take things one game at a time, now we have to think about playing well in Udine and we'll see at the end. Does Mazzarri occasionally get angry with referees? I also get angry with referees! But it's hard for them, they have a second or two to make a decision and blow the whistle. Are we on the end of more of their mistakes than other teams? I don't like talking about referees, we need to work to improve on what we're doing."
The Nerazzurri top scorer also discussed who he's been most surprised by in the Italian league ("I like Gervinho a lot, I think he really is proving the difference. To be honest I didn't expect Roma to be this strong") and competition for places in the national team: "Do I fear Tevez as a rival for Argentina? No, not for the national team. He can go and so can I. But I know he's a great player. He's not a direct competitor for a place at the World Cup. The World Cup being held in Brazil is a dream for an Argentine, it's great playing there. Could this be Messi's World Cup? Yes, he deserves it. Who should win the Ballon d'Or? Messi again."
Finally some good news for Inter: "I've still got 18 months to run on my current deal, we'll definitely sit down over the next few days and see if we can extend it a bit. Could I end my career at Inter? Yes, I'd like to, I really like it here."
