Inter's Assistant Coach Praises Team Maturity After 3-1 Victory Over Empoli While Tempering Scudetto Aspirations

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Inter Milan's assistant coach, Massimiliano Farris, praised the team's composure in their 3-1 win against Empoli in Serie A. This victory narrowed the gap to league leaders Napoli. With head coach Simone Inzaghi absent due to a touchline ban, Farris guided Inter to their 14th win of the season at San Siro. Lautaro Martinez, Denzel Dumfries, and substitute Marcus Thuram scored for Inter, despite Sebastiano Esposito's late goal for Empoli.

Inter have netted 51 goals in their 20 league matches this season. This matches their best goal tally at this stage of a Serie A campaign since 1960, achieved in the 2021-22 season. Over their last eight league fixtures, the Nerazzurri have secured 22 points from a possible 24, scoring 25 goals and conceding just four. Farris expressed satisfaction with his players' patience after a challenging first half.

"The team showed maturity; it doesn't always mean starting aggressively," Farris explained to reporters. "We faced an Empoli side that concentrated on closing spaces defensively. Often, games open up in the second half due to groundwork laid earlier." He highlighted Lautaro Martinez's performance as pivotal: "When Lautaro does what he does best, there are no problems."

Farris emphasized that Inter are not preoccupied with the standings. They are now three points behind Napoli but have a game in hand over Antonio Conte's team. "We focus on upcoming matches: before this game, we were six points behind; now it's three," he stated. "Currently, we don't have time to check the calendar; we concentrate on what needs doing."

The match was significant for Lautaro Martinez as well. He scored his 111th Serie A goal for Inter since joining from Racing Club in 2018. His curled shot equaled Mauro Icardi's record as the second-highest scoring foreign player for Inter in Italy’s top division. Only Stefano Nyers has more goals with 133.

After the match, Martinez acknowledged that competing with Napoli for the rest of the season would be challenging. "It's going to be fascinating," he told DAZN. "We're three points behind and have a game in hand, but we must focus on our own journey because Inter must improve every year."