Inter Milan News

The Rossoneri boss responds to comments that the cross-city rivals are too far apart in Serie A to be compared, retorting that only his side are representing Milan in Europe

Massimiliano Allegri has struck out at Walter Mazzarri and Inter, saying that Milan should not be the city’s sole representatives in Europe.

The two sides have experienced contrasting fortunes in Serie A this season with the Nerazzurri sitting in sixth, nine points and five places ahead of the beleaguered Rossoneri.

However, speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Sassuolo on Sunday, Allegri drew attention to the fact that only Milan remained both in the Coppa Italia and Champions League, rejecting Mazzarri’s recent remarks that there is a “huge difference” between the two teams.

“A city like Milan should have two clubs playing in Europe,” the 46-year-old told a press conference.

“However, we’re the only Milan club left in, as is the case in the Coppa Italia.

“At the moment Inter are ahead of us [in Serie A]. We’ll just have to try to represent the city in Europe, seeing as Inter have been knocked out.

“Inter are doing well, they’ve a nine-point advantage over us and have everything in place to have a good second half to the season. But to bicker over the gap makes no sense.”

Mazzarri had earlier this week revealed his irritation that Inter’s season was being compared to Milan’s, claiming that the Nerazzurri were far better off as things stand.

Allegri, however, feels that his under-fire players have a chance to turn their season around after their 3-0 win over Atalanta on Monday and is targeting victory over Sassuolo.

“We need another win and good performance,” he continued.

“The game is very important as we still haven’t won two games in a row this season.”

“We mustn’t forget the way we played in the first half of the season, nothing is certain in football. We have to approach the game with the right attitude or we could find ourselves in trouble.”

Milan currently sit 11th in Serie A with 22 points from their 18 games.

The winger has been linked with a loan move to Inter but the Spurs boss believes the 21-year-old needs more time to adapt to the Premier League

Tim Sherwood insists Erik Lamela will not be leaving Tottenham on loan during the January transfer window.

The 21-year-old, who arrived at White Hart Lane in a £30 million (€36m) deal from Roma in August, has struggled to secure a regular first-team place this season and has started just three games in the Premier League.

Inter have been linked with a temporary deal for the Argentina international but, as Goal exclusively revealed on Thursday, Tottenham are adamant that the winger will not be permitted to leave the club this month.

“He won’t be leaving on loan in this transfer window. He has a big future here, absolutely,” Sherwood said.

“We know what a talented player Erik is. We also understand that players need time to settle.

“He needs time to acclimatise to this country. He doesn’t speak English and he isn’t used to the pace of the games, especially over the Christmas period when they come thick and fast.

“He is not 100 per cent fit, either. He’s still feeling fatigued in one of his thighs so we were very cautious with him.

“We are going to take it nice and steady with him. I really want to put him on the stage when he’s ready to perform, rather than let people judge him when he’s half-cocked.”

The coach admits the club may force his hand as Chelsea target a move for the midfielder and hit out at the referee following his side’s loss to Udinese

Inter boss Walter Mazzarri insists he does not want Fredy Guarin to leave in January but concedes the decision may be out of his hands.

The Colombian midfielder has been strongly linked with moves to Chelsea and Manchester United in recent weeks and, although Mazzarri is eager to keep him at Giuseppe Meazza, he admits the club could opt to cash in on the 27-year-old.

“Clearly I’d like him to stay, but if his sale is being considered then that explains the club’s situation,” he told RAI Sport. “This year there are eight players coming towards the end of their contracts.”

Inter were beaten 1-0 by Udinese in the Coppa Italia on Thursday and Mazzarri was left fuming after Diego Milito – making his first start for the Nerazzurri in a year – was denied a penalty for a clear shirt-pull.

“The second half was an Inter monologue,” he continued.

“It’s becoming a joke now. You too saw the incidents today, so nobody can say: ‘Mazzarri complains about referees.’ I don’t want to talk about it any more for the rest of the season.

“We are a work in progress and I had to evaluate a few things, so I needed this game to experiment. We were a little shaken up in the first half and suffered due to Udinese’s pressing. The result is harsh on us, but these things happen in football.

“Milito’s comeback is important, as he hadn’t played 90 minutes in a year. Now we must concentrate on Serie A with a player like Milito back in our ranks.”

Inter’s last-16 defeat is their first since 2002 and follows a disappointing Serie A loss to Lazio, but Mazzarri maintains the club is on track as he looks to restore them as a major force in Italian football.

“This summer we set certain parameters and we’re on track with those. We’re missing a few points in the league, but I think we are doing very well,” he added.

“I don’t have to convince anyone, as last season Inter failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 14 years and it’s a sign this club is going through a difficult time.

“People must accept we are a work in progress. We’ve only lost three games and had a few too many draws, but this squad has a soul and cannot do everything in one year.”

Giampiero Pinzi stressed the importance of Udinese’s 1-0 victory over Walter Mazzarri’s men, especially considering they lost their opening game of 2014

Giampiero Pinzi dedicated Udinese’s 1-0 Coppa Italia win over Inter to Antonio Di Natale after the veteran striker announced his intention to retire at the end of the season a couple of days ago.

Maicosuel’s tap-in in the first half was enough to see the Bianconeri into the last eight, to face either AC Milan or Spezia Calcio, and consign the Nerazzurri to back-to-back losses.

As well as insisting the cup victory was for iconic skipper Di Natale, the tough-tackling midfielder praised the way Udinese fought for the win against the Serie A giants having been beaten 3-1 by Hellas Verona at the weekend.

“It’s a great victory,” the 32-year-old told Rai Sport after the Stadio Friuli game. “We came into it after a stinging defeat at home and we had to show what we could do against a great team like Inter.

“In the second half, we focused on our defence for our benefit and it helped produce a very important result. We prepared very well for the game and did well to shut down attacks and prevent Inter from breaking us down.

“Di Natale is a champion who has made us rejoice, taken us to Europe. We’re dedicating this victory to him, he’s our symbol and our captain and we want him to stay for many more years here.”

Francesco Guidolin’s men’s triumph in the last-16 stage of the Coppa Italia sees them join Fiorentina, Juventus and Roma in the next round.

Maicosuel’s first-half tap-in allowed Udinese to edge their last-16 Coppa Italia clash with Inter 1-0 on Thursday.

The Nerazzurri were made to pay for losing possession in the final third and Nico Lopez pounced to set up the Brazilian, who edged ahead of opposition skipper Javier Zanetti to score at the back post.

The hosts’ victory sets up a clash in the quarter-finals of the Italian cup with either AC Milan or Spezia Calcio, as they joined Fiorentina, Juventus and Roma in the last eight of the competition.

Walter Mazzarri’s men, whose side on paper certainly looked more dangerous, were flat in attack for the opening third of the game at the Stadio Friuli and invited the Zebrette to attack while looking toothless when in possession.

Young attacker Lopez caused problems for the deep-lying Inter backline with his pacey runs and was inches away from nodding home the opener.

The Uruguayan was key in creating the eventual first goal, however, as he sped into the box and skidded the ball across for Maicosuel to tap in, with Inter too slow to realise the danger.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic struck the bar five minutes later with a lovely, looped shot from distance as the Nerazzurri finally found some attacking drive, but not enough to prevent going in a goal behind at the break to the hosts.

Inter threw on Rodrigo Palacio at the break in the hope he could spark a revival and his arrival certainly allowed the visitors to continue their pressing intensity.

Mazzarri’s men looked weak when throwing players forward though and, following a turned down a Nerazzurri penalty appeal for handball, the hosts attacked, goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo completely failed to tackle Maicosuel and the visitors were saved by an appalling volleyed shot from Giampiero Pinzi.

The yellow cards were streamed out to Francesco Guidolin’s defensive players as they deployed hacking tactics to break up Inter’s attempted forays forward while Udinese’s attackers peppered shots at the other end, but they were mostly skewed pot shots with Badu a particularly guilty culprit from distance.

The game stretched significantly in the final 15 minutes as legs tired but Inter struggled to fashion genuine, goalscoring chances.

Fredy Guarin could – and should – have taken the game into stoppage-time with just over two minutes left on the clock but he smashed wide from seven yards after Milito’s fine, floated cross.

Inter’s inability to score condemned them to their second defeat of 2014 after opening the new year with a loss at Lazio and gave Udinese – who haven’t had the greatest of Serie A campaigns so far – a much-needed boost.