Spalletti: Inter must be ferocious against Juventus

Luciano Spalletti wants Inter to be “ferocious” in Saturday’s Serie A clash against leaders Juventus, with both sides in desperate need of points.

Juve saw their advantage at the top of the table cut to a single point by Napoli last weekend, Kalidou Koulibaly heading home a last-minute winner in Turin.

Inter head into the game fifth in Serie A, a point outside the Champions League qualification places with four matches remaining.

And Spalletti, whose team have won their past two league games, is focused on his own side rather than being worried about a Juve reaction.

“Are they angry after the Napoli defeat? We must be ferocious,” Spalletti told reporters on Friday. “I’m interested in what the three points mean for us, not denying Juventus three points.

“In order to have an efficient defence, you always need support from the attack and the team as a whole. I’m confident because the team’s development in this period is clear.

“The match against Juventus will be very tough but we’re ready to play for our objective of Champions League football in this final part of the season and I wouldn’t have any issue with going to Lazio on the final day to fight for this goal.

“We have the chance to do something really important, we certainly can’t hide. This is one of those matches where you must take responsibility and look to come up with the plays that make the difference.

“On the pitch, everything will have to be done in the right way, we’ll need to be able to read different situations because Juventus know how to adapt very well at every moment.”

| #Spalletti: “Nobody handed us our results at the start of the season. They were within our capabilities and then we learnt to deal with our limitations. Now, there’s more balance. We’re more solid for having gone through a tough spell.” #InterJuventus pic.twitter.com/xMJRoMIV2k

— Inter (@Inter_en) April 27, 2018

Spalletti is concerned with Inter’s strengths rather than Juventus’ pursuit of an unprecedented seventh straight Scudetto.

“Juventus are a very strong team physically but we’re not bad ourselves,” the former Roma boss added. “From indirect set-pieces, we’re level with them while they have something extra for direct free-kicks.

“This week, we trained well and I guarantee that we’re absolutely ready to approach this match in the best of ways.”