Inzaghi looking forward to Christmas break ahead of extraordinarily tough Inter run

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi wants one more push from his side in 2021 before a short Christmas break and a seriously daunting run of matches.

The Serie A leaders breezed past Salernitana on Friday, Ivan Perisic, Denzel Dumfries, Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez and Roberto Gagliardini scoring in a 5-0 victory.

The result put Inter four points clear at the top with one match left before the mid-season break, while they also became just the fourth side in Serie A history to score 100 or more goals in a calendar year.

The champions are on a run of six consecutive victories, the past five of which have all come without the Nerazzurri conceding a goal, but an ominous run of fixtures lies in wait in early 2022.

After Torino on Wednesday and Bologna on January 6, Inter host Lazio in the league before facing Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana, after which they head to Atalanta.

A home game with Venezia on January 22 is followed by the Milan derby at San Siro and a clash with title-chasing Napoli on February 12 – a game that takes place only four days before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Liverpool.

Inzaghi hopes for another strong showing against Torino before his players can take time to rest and prepare for the matches to come.

“These games look straightforward on paper, but that’s not the case,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “The boys had the right attitude from the start, I made changes and you couldn’t even tell because everyone steps up the same way.

“We have our ninth game in 25 days coming up. It’s the last push before the break for Christmas, and we need to grit our teeth.

“I thought we always played good football, but with our commitments in the Champions League, we dropped points along the way.

“We did well to keep our heads up, got back to the top of the table, and now we want to stay there. These boys never stopped, especially those who went on international duty and made long journeys. We need that break so everyone can recharge their batteries.”