Marotta: ‘Inter have right mentality, will battle to the end for Scudetto’

Inter President Beppe Marotta praises Cristian Chivu for instilling the right ‘mentality’ among big changes since they last faced Udinese. ‘We’ll be among those battling to the end for the Scudetto.’

It kicks off at the Bluenergy Stadium at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Napoli-Sassuolo and Cagliari-Juventus on the Liveblog.

It is a sad day in the Calcio world, as Fiorentina announced this morning that President Rocco Commisso died after a long illness.

“From myself and Inter, we send our condolences to the Commisso and Fiorentina families,” Marotta told DAZN Italia.

“We have lost one of the last great patrons of Italian football, who still maintained a business vision, with the construction of the Viola Park complex and rebuilding of the Stadio Franchi.

“He was above all a man of great passion. He was born in Italy, made his fortune abroad, but returned to his country with a club like Fiorentina, and I hope his family can continue this project that he started.”

The Nerazzurri beat Lecce in the midweek rescheduled Week 16 fixture to confirm their status as Winter Champions, and extend their advantage at the top of the table to three points over Milan, four ahead of Napoli.

With a big Champions League game coming up against Arsenal, Cristian Chivu rotates the squad with Francesco Pio Esposito stepping in, while Hakan Calhanoglu, Denzel Dumfries, Josep Martinez, Tomas Palacios and Raffaele Di Gennaro are injured.

“We saw a strong mentality, because Serie A is a league that drains you of energy, both physical and especially mental. Chivu has managed to pass on the right mentality to keep achieving important results while gritting their teeth,” continued Marotta.

“We need that again today, as Udinese are a very physical and tough side to break down.”

Inter lost 2-1 to Udinese at San Siro back in Week 2, when people were ready to declare the Chivu project one doomed to failure, but the situation has been turned on its head.

“I think the loss to Udinese was just down to the circumstances, with all due respect to the Friulani. It takes time to learn the players, their tactical characteristics, and how to work with them in the best way.

“It was a process, and now we are top of the table after a series of performances that suggest we’ll be among those teams battling to the end for the Scudetto,” concluded the Inter President.

The January transfer window is open and it has been a relatively quiet one for Inter, who had agreed a deal with Hajduk Split for Branimir Mlacic worth €5m, but the defender suddenly changed agents over the last 24 hours, to throw everything back into doubt.