SERIE A
Inzaghi: Rotation key for Champions League and Serie A chasers Inter
Simone Inzaghi believes that careful squad management is crucial for his team as he aims to balance their Serie A title charge along with the Champions League final.
Inzaghi watched on as Inter earned a 2-0 victory over Torino on Sunday, but rung the changes following their dramatic aggregate victory over Barcelona in midweek.
Lautaro Martinez, Benjamin Pavard, Davide Frattesi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all missed out on the matchday squad.
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The likes of Yann Sommer, Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Federico Dimarco were also named on the bench for Inter.
But it mattered little as Inzaghi, taking charge of his 150th Serie A game as Inter's manager, saw Kristjan Asllani and Nicola Zalewski's goals seal a victory.
Indeed, the Italian became just the second manager to win at least 100 matches with two different teams in the top-flight (100 with Inter and 108 with Lazio).
Inzaghi has opted to rotate his key players to ensure the long season does not wear them down as they try and complete the Serie A and Champions League double.
"I need to give some players rest time after a long and hard season," Inzaghi, whose side face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, told Sky Sport Italia.
"For the players who were absent today, I don’t think we’ll get any of them back (for the next match) against Lazio, but we’ll see for the final match with Como.
"People say Inter have a small squad but we don’t have the budget of PSG, Manchester City or Bayern Munich, so we need to be better in terms of organisation.
"With this heart, we can fight it out with everyone."
— Inter (@Inter_en) May 11, 2025
Speaking ahead of Napoli's 2-2 draw with Genoa, Inzaghi conceded that the title race was still not in their hands with two games of the season remaining.
Johan Vasquez netted an 84th-minute equaliser for Genoa at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, meaning the gap to Napoli has been cut to just one point.
"I said before the game, unfortunately the Scudetto is no longer in our hands," Inzaghi said.
"But we need to keep playing with focus like we did tonight, giving our all against a team that hadn’t lost yet in front of their home fans.
"We needed a tough performance and that’s what it was."
Inzaghi also praised Zalewski's effort in the match, which included an early goal after a solo effort.
"He is doing very well and has a lot of quality. He actually started out as a mezzala (half-winger) and can also work as a wing-back," Inzaghi said.
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