MILAN - Roberto Mancini was keen to underline the importance of a hard-fought win on Saturday night against a Bologna side that hadn't conceded in their last four league matches.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game today because Donadoni's side came into it on the back of a great run of form. We played well in the first half and got the goals in the second. Unfortunately we conceded a goal late on which meant we had to sweat for the last two minutes – that's the only black mark this evening."
The boss then spoke about goalscorer Danilo D'Ambrosio and the criticism levelled at him: “We've all been criticised but I wouldn't say he's been contested. He's a hard-working lad, a good lad and a consummate professional. I'm happy he scored today.”
The downside this evening is that Inter could find themselves without two strikers when they play Roma next weekend: “I don't know how long Icardi will be out for but our initial impression is he probably won't be available for the next game. We'll also be without Palacio because he picked up booking in a rather naive way and he'll be suspended now. I'm really disappointed about that."
Inter were frustrated in the first half and seemed to struggle to break the deadlock before Perisic and D'Ambrosio netted in quick succession in the second period. "We had chances before we eventually scored but after losing Icardi as our frontman we found it a bit harder to find a route to goal," Mancini admitted.
Not for the first time in recent months Inter made life difficult for themselves by conceding a late goal as Bologna pulled one back in the 90th minute. "We gifted them a goal tonight from a ball we should never have lost. But we more than deserved to win."
Mancini was then quizzed on the race for third place and the last Champions League spot: "It was important to win today but there are still points to play for. We'll wait and see what happens."
Finally, on Miranda and his possible involvement with Brazil this summer: "It's early days to be talking about call-ups for the summer."
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