Chivu: ‘Many reasons to be happy’ and Frattesi ‘still wants to be decisive’ for Inter

Cristian Chivu noted there are ‘many reasons to be happy’ after Inter’s 5-1 Coppa Italia victory over Venezia and discussed Davide Frattesi’s lack of playing time this season.

The Nerazzurri wanted to see some of their other players take centre-stage in the Coppa Italia, while those like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Thuram were eager to regain full match fitness after injury lay-offs.

It all went according to plan, as Andy Diouf got his first goal for the club, while Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny also found the net, around a Thuram brace.

The one setback was a Venezia goal with Richie Sagrado’s finish taking a big deflection off Carlos Augusto to wrong-foot Josep Martinez.

“I liked the attitude, the respect that they showed for their opponents,” Chivu told Sport Mediaset.

“I am pleased for what the players showed tonight, but I knew they would, as they are motivated, want to give a sense of consistency to the good work done in recent months.”

There were senior debuts for Matteo Cocchi, Leonardo Bovo and Matteo Spinaccè, who usually represent the Inter Under-23 side in Serie C.

“I’m happy for those who played their first at San Siro, those Under-23 players who I knew pretty well. I’m pleased for Andy Diouf, who had his first start and full 90 minutes, and scored a goal. There are many reasons to be happy this evening.”

Curiously, while Pio Esposito had scored at San Siro in the Italy jersey, this was his first goal here representing Inter.

He is also the first Nerazzurri player to score in four different tournaments this season, Serie A, the Champions League, Coppa Italia and FIFA Club World Cup.

“The lads deserve credit, and they were welcomed into the squad very well too by the old guard. Those who have been here for quite a few years and represent this club showed humility, helping the youngsters to immediately settle into the atmosphere at this club. It is a continual process of improvement,” explained Chivu.

Frattesi also got a rare start, but he played alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the second half rather than in his place.

“Perhaps Frattesi deserved a few more minutes on the field, but he also had problems, coming off an injury with issues that perhaps we didn’t say publicly. He needed to put fuel in the tank today and he did it pretty well for 90 minutes,” replied Chivu.

“We know Davide’s importance and what he can give. I made different choices, but I know that I can count on a player who still wants to be decisive for us.”

The 5-1 result makes it the joint biggest Inter victory in the Coppa Italia over the last 40 years, along with the 6-2 win over Benevento in 2019.

It was put to Chivu that along with the results on the field, he has impressed with his way of communicating and refusing to accept easy alibis, so he shrugged it off with a joke.

“We are well aware of what we want to do and how much work it will require to get there. We know there are moments when things go well and others that go badly. Hopefully, I will have time over the course of the season to talk some rubbish too. I’m sure I’ve said many in the past, but perhaps people didn’t notice…”

Inter will face either Roma or Torino in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, but because of the vagaries of the fixture list, they won’t find out who precisely until January 13.

This was still a morale-boosting victory, much needed after their back-to-back losses against AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, already getting on track over the weekend in Pisa.