Simone Inzaghi was left disappointed after his team drew with Genoa in their opening match of the season. The Rossoblù managed to secure a late equalizer, which denied Inzaghi’s side a winning start.
“There is a sense of disappointment,” he said, reflecting on the game. “In my opinion, the players showed serious focus and played well. We had a good first half, but the goal from Genoa felt like a stroke of bad luck. We managed to equalize and created several chances. In the second half, though, we were slower in moving the ball. But then, in the 84th minute, we managed to take the lead. I’m not satisfied; after going 1-2 up, I brought on Asllani to help us manage possession better. Conceding two goals like that makes it hard to win. Credit to Genoa, they never gave up and showed great heart and effort. However, we are not happy with the draw. We should not have conceded the second goal in that manner,” the coach stated in an interview with Dazn.
Inzaghi also commented on the team’s preparation, noting the challenge of reintegrating players returning from international duty. “We faced some unfortunate situations. The team was mentally well-organized. We’ve always struggled here in the past, but I felt positive overall. We need to keep working; it’s only August 17, and we have just started training together again. I have no complaints about my players; in the second half, we allowed only one shot from Badelj. Winning is difficult, and repeating that is even harder. The players are mature and aware of this, which is why I’m disappointed. It was our first match at Marassi, and considering the challenges we faced with players returning from the Copa America and the Euros, we should have managed the end of the game better. Football offers no easy rewards; we needed to be better to secure the win.”
Inzaghi praised one of his players, highlighting the performance of the German before concluding his thoughts. “He had a great game, but towards the end, he wasn’t as sharp as in the first seventy minutes. I was about to substitute him for Pavard, but when we doubled our lead, I chose to keep him on as Genoa was bringing on taller players, and I didn’t want to lose height. He needs to keep working hard. Obviously, he made a mistake leading to the second goal, and he knows it, but he is a player of great value.”