Inter, Spalletti: 'There is one difference between Icardi and Lautaro'
The Inter Milan head coach then went on to discuss the quality his opponents showed in the first leg: ‘In the second half, they showed that they have quality. When we tried to push the match in a certain way so that we’d be in a more advantageous situation, they played with more freedom. The result means that they don’t have to think too much about the tactics or what they need to do but they need to come out and play so we must be careful: ‘They won in Moscow and it’s not easy to do that. We still have to fight to make it through’, said Spalletti. Mauro Icardi will miss the second leg as he recovers from a knee injury that kept him out of action against Sampdoria, and Spalletti gave his opinion on Icardi’s replacement. ‘Lautaro and Icardi are very similar, they’re both central strikers. Like all strong players, they can coexist. When you’re at such a high level, you can play together. One is better inside the box while the other is better at dropping deeper.’
Inter go into the match as favourites with a 1 – 0 lead and a vital away goal, however Spalletti had a clear message for his players that they still need to treat their opponents with respect. ‘The match itself will say if we’re up to the level of what the Club, the fans and the history of this shirt demand."
"I look to send messages that everyone will hear, it’s always the team that is in front of you. It’s better to send a message that concerns everyone and that everyone will get and you can see that the team understands these rules. As professionals, we all need to be accountable to someone or something and we realise that we're accountable to Inter.’