The former Manchester City boss gambled with 10 changes to his first-team, and the reserves responded well with a convincing win to move into the quarter-final
Jonathan Biabiany has revealed that Inter’s fringe players were determined to prove their worth to coach Roberto Mancini during their 3-0 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari.
Mancini made 10 changes to the Inter side that beat Udinese 4-0 in Serie A on Saturday for the last-16 tie with the Serie B team, with Martin Montoya the only player to remain in his starting XI.
And the team of deputies stepped in seamlessly thanks to goals from Rodrigo Palacio, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic.
For Biabiany, it was the perfect response from Inter, who safely negotiated their way to the quarter-final clash with either Napoli or Verona.
The Frenchman told RAI: “It was important not to concede and to win. We wanted to do well to show the coach that we’re all here, even those who didn’t play against Udinese.
“Brozovic? He’s becoming used to scoring goals like that, but the most important thing is to not concede goals. His celebrations have become a brand, the group is very united, we’re all pulling in the same direction.”
Inter sit top of Serie A, having been revitalised under Mancini this season, with Biabiany adding: “We know that we’re in the top and we’ll fight until the end but our goal is still to qualify for the Champions League.”