MILAN - Roberto Mancini believes that tonight's derby victory will provide a boost to his young side's self-confidence but insists there is still much work to do if Inter want to challenge for the top prizes.
Speaking to the media after Fredy Guarin's goal sealed a 1-0 victory over local rivals AC Milan, the Nerazzurri boss said: "Winning the derby in the third match of the season is important because teams haven't found their best form yet. This win should give us added belief in our ability and help us to work calmly but we know there's still a long way to go. It's our duty to aim for the very top because we're Inter."
Are the Nerazzurri well equipped to win the title now? "It's a long season and we have a lot of work to do. Great teams should always aim to win but then you need to put in the effort and also have a bit of luck go your way. We'll see what happens. At the moment Juventus, Roma and Napoli are better equipped than we are."
The coach was asked to elaborate on his team selection. "Medel started in defence because he's an experienced, smart player who's used to playing in that position. He knows when to take a step back and when to nip in ahead of his man. I went with him because he knows Milan's two strikers well and because he plays in a back four for Chile. Andrea [Ranocchia] hasn't played much and wasn't 100%."
It was a first Milan Derby for lots of Inter players and a full Nerazzurri debut for Felipe Melo and Ivan Perisic, and Mancini said he was happy with both.
"Felipe Melo is a great player. I didn't know him until I had the chance to coach him. He's aggressive when he needs to be and I think he played an excellent game today.
"Perisic can play in any position but he only joined us three days ago and we'll need time to help him and the other new guys to settle into the side."
On Jeison Murillo: "He made a few mistakes in the first half but he more than made up for it with his second-half performance. We're a young team so you're going to get the odd mistake. We'll get better."
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MANCINI, FELICE PER LA VITTORIA
