Inter Now Aiming Higher Than Just The Treble After Comeback Win

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It was a roller-coaster ride for Inter Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium against Monza as they had to come from 2 goals down to claim another win that helped to keep their hopes of winning a treble this season alive, but the bar may have been raised higher.

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In his post match interview, Simone Inzaghi corrected himself, pointing out Inter are not just up for the treble, but ‘the Quadruple’ including the Club World Cup after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Monza, though it was a very surprising first half at San Siro.

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Monza, who were rock bottom in the Serie A table were leading 2-0 against the team topping the table, through Samuele Birindelli and Keita Balde Diao goals. Marko Arnautovic got one back in stoppages, setting up the turnaround in the second half.

Hakan Calhanoglu and a Georgios Kyriakopoulos own goal trying to anticipate Lautaro Martinez. This result keeps the pressure on Napoli, while Atalanta and Juventus will go head-to-head on Sunday.

“Alessandro Nesta was a great teammate at Lazio, he was already captain when I arrived and then he came to Milan and was teammates with my brother,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

“I have to congratulate him, because Monza played so well at San Siro, while I also congratulate my lads for the comeback. It was not easy against a side that defended well. I think we had a season record of shots on goal today and kept clear-headed too.”

During his press conference for the Champions League Round of 16 tie with Feyenoord this week, Inzaghi responded to a question about doing the Double by pointing out Inter were in fact still on track for a Treble. “I should’ve corrected myself again and said Quadruple.

“This is because we’re in the running for the Club World Cup too at the end of the season,” smiled Inzaghi. “The only idea in our minds is to make our fans happy by trying to honour every single game. It is not easy, but these lads have great spirit.

“We want to take it one game at a time and in a couple of days we’ll be back on the pitch against Feyenoord.” There is a strange disconnect in the performances over different tournaments this season. While Inter conceded only one goal in their nine Champions League matches, they let in 27 in 28 Serie A rounds.

“It is a fact we cannot ignore, but I can assure you we prepare every match the same way. In Europe, we have this impressive defensive record, while the goals scored are more in Serie A than the Champions League too,” confessed Inzaghi.

“It is not easy to recover quickly from the Champions League, we saw today that all the German teams who played in Europe then struggled. We just have to keep going, knowing that in under 72 hours we have another very important match, then Bergamo against Atalanta after that.“

“We should’ve defended better on the first goal, but Keita’s strike was fantastic. I still hugged every player one by one after the final whistle, because they are doing a remarkable job, especially now that there are fewer options to rotate.” He continued.

There is bad news too going into Tuesday’s second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie with Feyenoord, because while Carlos Augusto made his comeback as a substitute, Piotr Zielinski pulled up with a suspected calf strain after just three minutes of his performance.

Kautaro Martinez was also spotted after the final clutching the back of his left thigh. Meanwhile, Feyenoord got permission from the Eredivisie to move their game, so will have had a full week to prepare and try to overturn the 2-0 first leg defeat.

“I don’t think it’s entirely fair, but if the rules allow them to do this, then Feyenoord did well to take the opportunity,” noted Inzaghi. The coach was asked why it is right that Inter are top of the Serie A table. “Consistency, goals scored and targets, because we are taking them one game at a time.”

“Despite the fact we’ve been together for three years, we’d never had 41 games played by March 8 in a single season,” concluded Inzaghi. “The fans were waiting for us as we arrived at the stadium, and we don’t know how things will go, but we will certainly give it our all.” He further added.

For Calhanoglu, he also insisted that Inter want the treble this season, but Arnautovic revealed that he does not take credit for the 2010 edition. “As I said before the game, we cannot underestimate opponents. They are talented, they know how to cause problems.”

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 10: Head Coach of Napoli Antonio Conte and Head Coach of FC Internazionale Simone Inzaghi are seen during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on November 10, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)

“In the end we gave everything, dominated and are happy with the victory,” Calhanoglu told Sky Sport Italia. Inzaghi had said that he didn’t want to choose between the Scudetto, Champions League and even Coppa Italia, so why not go for the Treble?

“I think the mentality of the coach is the right one, we want the Treble and to give our fans something important, but it’s a long way to go and we have to take it step by step,” added Calhanoglu after his volley gave Inter the equalizer before an own goal gave them the win.

Arnautovic was already in the Inter squad the first time around when they won the Treble with Jose Mourinho in 2010, but the Austria international insists he doesn’t take any credit. “I was basically a fan like those in the Curva Nord.”

“I didn’t do much, I played 2-3 games, so I don’t consider that mine,” he told Sky Sport Italia. The centre-forward had great words for Man of the Match Calhanoglu during their post-match interview on the pitch. “Calha is very important, because in my 20-odd years of playing football, I’ve never made a friend like this in the sport.”

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“He is also fundamental for the team, because when he is in good shape, the team works well.” The Turkish international repaid the favour with more compliments. “When there are difficult moments, he is the one who speaks up and lifts everyone up,” Calhanoglu concluded.

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