MILAN - Roberto Mancini stressed the importance of winning tonight's match against Udinese following what he described as an 'excellent' display by his team.
"It was an excellent performance but we should have wrapped it up earlier," he began after the final whistle. "We almost conceded one at the death before we finally put the game to bed.
“Their early goal set us back a bit but then we carved out enough chances to turn it around – more than we needed to have to wait until the 95th minute before finally settling it. We know that's an area where we need to improve. We expected more goals from our forwards this year and for various reasons they didn't come. It's not because they haven't played well or haven't given their all. Football is strange like that sometimes."
On Inter's chances of finishing third: “Anything can happen in football. Our win today keeps a glimmer of hope alive. When you're chasing you have to hope whoever's ahead of you slips up but let's wait till the season finishes before we start talking about regret. It was an important win today because it restores a bit of calm."
The boss then offered his thoughts on the individual performances of some of his players.
"Jovetic got two today but he did more than just score. He can do a lot more still and he knows it. He can play with Mauro Icardi, no problem.
"Brozovic was supposed to operate wide on the right to support the forwards then we changed things around because Biabiany is more more comfortable in that position. I don't think there's a player in Serie A who does more running than him. Occasionally a loses a bit of quality because he lacks a touch of experience there, but he's got everything he needs to perform well and score goals.
"We're happy that Eder's got off the mark now – that's important for a striker. Hopefully the goal will make him feel even more relaxed because he's really talented and can play in lots of different positions.
"Icardi was excellent today – I think he played even better than he did against Napoli. But he hit the back of the net against Napoli and that changes people's opinions. I think this was one of his best games for us.
Mancini also responded to questions about the visit by a Chinese group from Suning: "One thing is certain and that's Inter and the fans. That never changes, no matter who the president or the coach is. In any case, there's no turmoil and we're calm. We're just getting on with our jobs and trying to win games. Thohir is fond of the club, as is Moratti. We're calm because we know we're in safe hands.
"As for possible transfers, there are lots of top players out there. We need players with the character and technical ability to play for a team with a great tradition like Inter.”
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