Cristian Chivu is pleased that Inter are “enjoying their football” following their decisive 3-0 win against Cagliari. While the Scudetto is nearing, Chivu remains focused on the team’s achievements, stating, “Thank God we achieved Champions League qualification.”
The Nerazzurri are moving closer to securing the Scudetto title after a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Cagliari at the San Siro. The deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute when Marcus Thuram converted a Federico Dimarco assist, followed shortly by a powerful strike from Nicolò Barella. Piotr Zielinski sealed the victory in stoppage time with an impressive shot into the top corner.
Chivu’s earlier comments about rivals’ primary objective being a Champions League spot have now been proven correct with Como’s defeat, mathematically confirming Inter’s qualification.
“I was being ironic last week, but not joking, so we’re very happy,” Chivu commented to Sky Sport Italia. “We were aware of how important this match was. We faced some difficulties in the first half; our play was too slow, which allowed Cagliari to defend their spaces effectively. After the break, we widened their defense, pushed the forwards up, and increased our intensity.
“When this team breaks the initial resistance, they start to enjoy their football and pursue more ambitious plays. This is a team with quality; they are great players, and they clearly enjoy themselves on the pitch.”
When asked about the belief he sees in his players’ eyes, Chivu offered a playful and slightly sarcastic response: “I don’t see their eyes often, as they are always looking down at their phones. I call this the one-hand generation; they always have a phone in one hand and use the other for other things…
“We are aware of the hard work we’ve put in, of what we did to become competitive, and thank God we have now achieved the objective of Champions League qualification with five games to spare. Now we can look forward and strive to remain competitive until the end.”
This result places Inter temporarily 12 points clear at the top of the league table, awaiting the results of Napoli and Milan’s weekend fixtures. They entered this round with a nine-point lead, and this advantage will be maintained going into the final five matches.
Inter’s next focus is the Coppa Italia semi-final against Como on Tuesday evening. The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Sinigaglia, setting up an exciting second leg.
Despite facing significant criticism this season, Chivu is on track to potentially end the campaign with two trophies.
“There are human elements too; we mustn’t forget how tough last season was for these lads, but they challenged themselves, didn’t back down, and always responded to the ups and downs of the season. They’ve built something here over the last few years and were determined to preserve the positive foundations they had established.”
Regarding Inter’s competitiveness in Serie A and the Champions League next season, Chivu commented: “It’s not easy, as you face teams of a certain caliber, especially those from the Premier League that spend incredible amounts of money to keep reinforcing. We have countless examples of teams that spent heavily and still didn’t guarantee Champions League success. We aim to be competitive; qualifying for the Champions League is a primary objective for all clubs, so it’s not to be taken lightly, as everyone wants to participate in that tournament.”
Inter President Beppe Marotta had indicated before the match that a new contract for Chivu would not be an issue. The coach responded: “I haven’t discussed this with them at all, as I was focused on achieving Champions League qualification. Is it achieved? Not entirely. I’m not superstitious; I prefer to concentrate my energy on football rather than my future.”
