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BAKU – With the Nerazzurri’s last group stage game of this season’s Europa League less than 24 hours away, Roberto Mancini held a press conference in Baku this afternoon. Flanked by Danilo D’Ambrosio and Federico Bonazzoli, Mancini started with a word on tomorrow’s opponents: “We know Qarabag. They’re a good team and are in with a shout of qualifying so they’ll certainly be giving it their all.

“We had a poor result against Udinese and we didn’t play well, but we’re working on turning things around. I was disappointed after the match, particularly for the players, but I told them to relax and keep working hard. We’ll try and get back up there and give 100%.

“Even though we’ll be rotating the team a bit tomorrow, we’ve certainly not come here to make up the numbers. We’ll play to win. Vidic hasn’t been well since yesterday. Our squad is made up of many young players, and although there’s a lot of work to be done, we can get back to winning things in the near future. Tomorrow will be a great game. The fact that we’re through means that we’ve played well in this competition,” concluded the Nerazzurri coach.

It was then Federico Bonazzoli’s turn to speak: “This is a dream come true for me. Even though I’m not much more experienced than they are, I’ll try to be an example for my Primavera team-mates that have made the trip here.”

Danilo D’Ambrosio had this to say: “The most important thing is to play and get some game time under my belt. We’ll try and get a good result here because winning breeds self-confidence.”

APPIANO GENTILE – Whilst the majority of the squad is in Baku preparing for the team’s Europa League match against Qarabag, work continued today for those not involved on Thursday night.

Whilst Icardi, Dodo and Palacio trained separately, the rest of the participants kicked off the session with some fitness work. The Nerazzurri then moved on to technical and tactical drills before rounding things off with a friendly match on a reduced-size pitch. It was a high-octane session for all involved, with barely any downtime between one exercise and the next.

MILAN – It was a winning return to league action for Alberto Cerrone’s Berretti side. The young Nerazzurri brushed San Marino aside, beating them 4-1 at the Centro Sportivo Giacinto Facchetti.

The visitors drew first blood, with Tardini making it 0-1 early on. The Inter reaction was not long in the offing, however, with Zonta and then Appiah ensuring a half-time lead for the home side. After the break, Appiah added a second before De Micheli rounded things off late on.