Sept 21 (Askume) – Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi has urged his side not to rest on their past laurels as they prepare to face AC Milan in the Madonna derby on Sunday.
Although Inter have dominated recent games and won their last six games, Inzaghi has warned his players not to let history affect their performances against their Serie A rivals.
The defending champions have had a good start to the season with eight points from four games. In comparison, Milan have only managed five points, increasing the pressure on their manager Paulo Fonseca ahead of the derby.
“We must not think about the previous games. They are just unforgettable games and you don’t score for memories. We faced a very strong team with good players,” Inzaghi told a news conference on Saturday.
“Derbies often defy predictions. We have to perform better on the day and focus on every detail,” he said.
The derby comes at a crucial moment after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League .
“We know what the derby means to our fans and we expect a special performance from Inter,” Inzaghi said.
“After expending a lot of energy against Manchester City, games like this will help us find reserves of strength we didn’t even know we had.”
Inzaghi said he had given careful consideration to player selection and tried to balance the demands of domestic and international competition while controlling player fatigue.
“Champions League games exhaust you mentally and physically. So far this season we have seen that smaller clubs pose a big challenge to bigger teams,” he said.
“All the players are first choice and I respect all of them. I have some doubts and I will decide tomorrow.”
“We are working hard to improve our scoring and finishing. Milan are a strong opponent so we need to be careful of many precarious situations,” Inzaghi said.
