Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
News  

Inter face ‘tough’ Viola trip, says Mancini

By AFP
13 February 2016   |   4:20 pm
Roberto Mancini expects a "tough" away encounter at Fiorentina on Sunday as Inter Milan dig in for their impending battle to secure Champions League football next season. With one win in their last six outings dropping Inter to fifth place at 11 points behind leaders Napoli, Mancini's men already look to be out of the…

Roberto Mancini

Roberto Mancini expects a “tough” away encounter at Fiorentina on Sunday as Inter Milan dig in for their impending battle to secure Champions League football next season.

With one win in their last six outings dropping Inter to fifth place at 11 points behind leaders Napoli, Mancini’s men already look to be out of the title race.

And with Roma moving up to third following Friday’s 3-1 win at Carpi, and Fiorentina one point ahead in fourth, Inter’s main objective of a top three finish and possible Champions League qualification also looks at risk.

One of Inter’s heaviest defeats this season was a humiliating 4-1 reverse at home to Fiorentina in September when Nikola Kalinic’s hat-trick stunned the San Siro into silence.

Defeat away to Fiorentina on Sunday would heap further pressure on Mancini, who won seven trophies including three consecutive league titles in a previous spell with the club (2004-2008).

But he told media on Saturday: “Our first game against them was strange, tomorrow it will be totally different.

“We’ll try to concede as little as possible, but it will be a tough game — Fiorentina have good, technical players.”

Defeats to Sassuolo and city rivals AC Milan (3-0), as well as three draws with Atalanta, Carpi and Verona have seen Inter tumble from the top spot they held just before Christmas.

Mancini’s men face Juventus and Roma in the coming weeks, and although he says the league is far from over, the former Manchester City and Galatasaray handler admits securing a Champions League place just got harder.

“We started the season with that objective and we had a great first half. Now, Fiorentina and Roma are in contention, and we also have to keep an eye on a resurgent AC Milan,” added Mancini.

Ahead of Sunday’s visit of Genoa, Milan are in sixth at five points behind Inter.

With two wins in their past six outings, Fiorentina have fared better than Inter of late, but only just.

Coach Paulo Sousa, a midfielder with Inter in his playing days, admits they have lost some of their early season thrust and have to get firing on all cylinders again.

“Right now we’re lacking the winning consistency we had at the start of the season, but I still believe, despite a few hiccups, we’re having an extraordinary season,” said Sousa.

“I’m optimistic. We’re sitting in a league position that is normally occupied by our rivals. We want to, and we can realistically compete with them.”

After a lightning start to the season, a combination of fatigue and injury niggles has seen Croatian striker Kalinic drop off the pace.

Sousa, however, believes he will soon return to form: “He’s had a few problems, especially with fatigue, but we’ve been helping him through this and I’m confident the goals will return.”

0 Comments