Spalletti´s Inter to take heart from Tottenham turnaround

After a difficult start to 2018-19, Luciano Spalletti believes Inter’s stunning comeback against Tottenham will give his side huge self-belief.

The Nerazzurri came into Tuesday’s Champions League Group B opener with just one win from their first four Serie A outings of the campaign.

And it looked as though their toils would continue at San Siro as, with five minutes remaining, they trailed 1-0 to Christian Eriksen’s deflected effort.

But Mauro Icardi’s sensational first-time volley from 20 yards levelled matters, before Matias Vecino nodded in from a corner in the second minute of stoppage time as Inter celebrated their first outing in the competition since 2011-12 with a dramatic turnaround in front of a raucous home following.

 53′ Christian Eriksen
 86′ Mauro Icardi
 90+2′ Matías Vecino

What. A. Comeback #UCL pic.twitter.com/0EUmT0gDtP

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 18, 2018

“The fact we overturned the result with that final push makes it even more satisfying,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.

“We saw how the fans in the stadium celebrated what it meant to them. We were always attacking and always tried to get behind them, so we put in a great performance.

“This result gives us different self-belief around the work we are doing. Getting players like Icardi to break their ducks is fundamental, as we need his goals.

“Icardi is a serious professional and he is not someone who runs away from responsibility. We have many great players, though, and sometimes we must learn how to win even without Mauro. We can’t have the same XI in every game.”