< ![CDATA[

MILAN – He broke the deadlock with a moment of magnificent athleticism – the sort of goal that brings you to your feet in disbelief. Daniel Pablo Osvaldo set the Nerazzurri on their way to victory tonight with a mid-air volley straight out of the top drawer but he was in a modest mood as he spoke to Inter Channel after the final whistle.

He explained: “You try things like that sometimes – although lots of times it will end up in the stands! Tonight it went in for me and it helped us get the three points so I’m happy.”

The striker had only been on to the pitch for a short while after replacing the injured Icardi: “It took me a few minutes to find my feet and get into gear but I guess that was normal as I hadn’t warmed up. After that I settled into the game and it went well.”

]]>

< ![CDATA[

MILAN – Inter turned in a solid performance to achieve what proved to be a fairly comfortable success in the end over a side that has proved to be a real menace for the Nerazzurri in recent years. This evening’s 2-0 victory over Atalanta was the result of a gutsy, determined display by Walter Mazzarri’s men – exactly what he wants from his team.

The coach revealed his satisfaction during his post-match media duties. “We played very well today and kept things nice and tight, apart from towards the end perhaps. We started strongly and did well to close their space down. If we want to find something to criticise we could say that we should have put the game to bed earlier. If we want to be competitive we need to learn to take all our chances.”

Mazzarri then analysed the performances of some of his players individually, starting with Hernanes, who netted the second tonight after coming on as a sub. “His goal today will do him good. I’m happy for him because he’s such a great professional.”

Asked about Inter’s other goalscorer, Osvaldo, he went on: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by him. He’s a good lad who gets on with the job and is very professional.  He’ll even get better if he keeps putting everything in on the training ground as he has been doing.”

Gary Medel came in for applause from the San Siro faithful on several occasions against Atalanta and the Nerazzurri manager explained the importance of the Chilean midfielder: “If we want to play with two attacking midfielders and the wide men getting forward then we need someone who can sit in there and do a perfect defensive job. But Gary is also very good at building play.

“I’d also like to stress how well M’Vila has been doing. He hasn’t found it easy the last two years but he’s getting back to his old self now.”

The coach was also probed for an update on Icardi after the striker was forced off in the first half due to injury. “He took a pretty nasty knock. If he had to come off he must have felt it. I still need to speak to him to find out what happened.”

Finally, Mazzarri was reminded that Inter are in a good position in the league following two wins and two draws from their first four games. “I don’t look at the table. I’m already focused on Cagliari,” he concluded.

]]>

< ![CDATA[

MILAN – Hernanes was one of the stars of tonight’s match between Inter and Atalanta, wowing the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza with a stunning free-kick and some acrobatic celebrations.

After watching the goal back, the Nerazzurri midfielder commented:  “Well, looking at it there it seems simple, but connecting with the ball well and putting it where you want it to go is never easy. It ended up in just the right spot and I’m happy that my goal put the result beyond doubt so that we could get the three points.

“This season we’ve got a squad of players who could play in any team in the world. We must always go out onto the pitch ready to give 100% because we want to do well in both Serie A and the Europa League. In order for that to happen, we all need to pitch in and be sure to keep our feet on the ground.”

]]>

< ![CDATA[

]]>

< ![CDATA[

MILAN – Inter continued their imperious early-season home form as they beat Atalanta 2-0 in tonight’s Serie A Week 4 match at the Stadio Meazza.

Osvaldo opened the scoring towards the end of the first period with a beautifully taken acrobatic effort from the edge of the box. Hernanes then came off the bench to blast a superbly struck free kick past Sportiello and wrap up the points with the clock ticking down. Palacio was lively on his return to the starting line-up and unlucky too – he was denied by the post.

Inter 2-0 Atalanta (HT 1-0)
Scorers: Osvaldo 40, Hernanes 86.

Inter: 1 Handanovic; 23 Ranocchia, 15 Vidic, 5 Juan Jesus; 2 Jonathan, 13 Guarin (88 Hernanes, 65), 18 Medel, 10 Kovacic, 22 Dodo; 8 Palacio (90 M’Vila, 74), 9 Icardi (7 Osvaldo, 25).
Subs not used: 30 Carrizo, 6 Andreolli, 14 Campagnaro, 17 Kuzmanovic, 20 Obi, 25 Mbaye, 33 D’Ambrosio, 44 Krhin, 55 Nagatomo.
Coach: Walter Mazzarri.

Atalanta: 57 Sportiello; 22 Zappacosta, 29 Benalouane, 33 Cherubin, 93 Dramé; 7 D’Alessandro (10 Gomez, 51), 21 Cigarini, 17 Carmona, 18 Estigarribia; 9 Bianchi (19 Denis, 73), 11 Moralez (99 Boakye, 51).
Subs not used: 1 Avramov, 3 Del Grosso, 5 Scaloni, 6 Bellini, 7 Raimondi, 8 Migliaccio, 10 Gomez, 16 Baselli, 20 Biava, 31 Molina.
Coach: Stefano Colantuono.

Referee: Andrea Gervasoni (Mantova).

Booked: Carmona 28, Kovacic 74, Boakye 89.
Added time: 3+3 minutes.

]]>