Romelu Lukaku has started the last month of the season in the “best possible way,” according to Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi, who made these comments on Monday in advance of the return leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against rivals AC Milan. AC Milan and Inter Milan are both from Milan, Italy.
Lukaku, who is now playing on loan at Inter from Chelsea, has had a rough season in terms of both form and injury, but he has scored three goals in his team’s previous three matches.
When asked if the Belgian had returned to the level he had exhibited during his first stint at Inter – a stint during which he scored 64 goals in two seasons and won the title of Serie A – Inzaghi told reporters: “You know him, you know what he can do.”
“That is what we anticipated during the course of the year, but sadly something unforeseeable happened to both him and Marcelo Brozovic, which resulted in the loss of two players who were crucial for a good portion of the year.
“I can think of important games played without them, but what you see is a Lukaku who arrived at the last month in the best possible way,” the coach said. “What you see is a Lukaku who scored in the best possible way.”
However, Inzaghi noted that there are still some worries over the 30-year-old player’s health, stating, “three games a week at the moment, I don’t even know if he can manage them…” Inzaghi is referring to the current schedule of the team, which consists of three games each week.
Inter currently hold a 2-0 advantage over Milan going into the second leg of their semifinal matchup, which will take place on Tuesday at the San Siro. Inter is attempting to advance to the final for the first time since they were crowned European champions in 2010.
The Italian team entered the second leg of their quarterfinal match against Benfica with a lead comparable to the one they held going into the match, and Inzaghi stated that his message to his players was the same as it had been before the match a month before.
“I’ve said it before, Benfica, it’s going to need a level mind and a generous heart. I apologize in advance for the repetition, but this is the only strategy that makes sense for matchups like these,” Inzaghi continued.
“Tomorrow, we are well aware that it is one of the most significant matches in Inter’s whole history. Tomorrow, we are aware that we have an advantage, and it is well deserved; yet, we will not simply have to handle it. We are going to have to play as Inter despite the fact that the team that we are competing against is really good.
“We are aware that we are only 90 minutes away from a dream that these wonderful guys and I had,” she said.
Inzaghi also mentioned that the attacker Joaquin Correa, who was substituted off at halfway during Inter’s 4-2 victory against Sassuolo on Saturday, may be available to play on Tuesday.
“Correa asked for a change, and I wouldn’t have taken him off because he was satisfying me,” Inzaghi added. “I wouldn’t have taken him off because he was satisfying me.”
“The sensations are good, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that it’s nothing serious. We’ll evaluate it during today’s training.” It seems likely that he will succeed, but I can’t say for sure.