MILAN - Roberto Mancini believes the next seven days could go a long way to determining this season's Serie A outcome after Inter beat Roma this evening, a victory he feels was achieved partly thanks to the Nerazzurri's tactical approach and the impact made by the three substitutes.
"It was a good performance against a great team," he told the media after the game. "They're in a bit of a rut right now but they're still one of the best sides in the league. They have good players and it wasn't easy to beat them."
The Nerazzurri did have less possession than usual though. The boss explained: "We were trying to get the ball forward quickly to cause problems for Roma. Our transition play was a key factor in us getting the win tonight."
Mancini then praised the performances of the three players who entered the fray in the second half. "Lukas, Shaq and Mateo did really well after coming on. They injected a bit of flair at a time when we were finding it hard. We'd never played with Hernanes and Kovacic in front of the defence like that before either.
"If Mateo keeps playing with this level of intensity he'll go on to achieve great things; it doesn't matter where he's playing.
As for his change of tactics mid-game, Mancini admitted: "We improved after switching to 4-2-3-1 because we covered the pitch better."
When you need a goal, Mauro Icardi is your man, but a strong defensive display was also key tonight. The coach went on: "Icardi is a top-class centre forward and even if he misses a chance or two he's always capable of scoring. You know there's always a goal in the air with him. That's the most important thing.
"The centre-backs have made great progress too and I was very happy with them. If we'd managed not to lose the ball as we were coming out of defence we would have been perfect."
The team will be straight back on the training ground tomorrow as Tuesday's match against Udinese is just around the corner, while a European berth looks that much closer now. "I think the four points between us and the European spots are the ones we lost against Parma and Cesena. But we have three games this week and I think it could prove crucial. We'll see where we are come Sunday night. Now we must focus on our trip to Udine."
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LE PAROLE DI MISTER MANCINI POST INTER ROMA
