ROME (Reuters) - Inter Milan need to press the reset button ahead of their Serie A clash with title rivals Atalanta, coach Simone Inzaghi said on Saturday, after experiencing midweek euphoria by beating rivals Juventus in the Italian Super Cup.
A 120th-minute strike from substitute Alexis Sanchez gave the league leaders a dramatic extra-time victory at San Siro in the "Derby of Italy", earning Inzaghi his first trophy since taking the Inter job in the off-season.
"Winning my first trophy in front of our fans was a beautiful experience," Inzaghi told a news conference.
"But it’s already in the past, we know that we need to calm down from our euphoria before tomorrow, because it will be a very complicated match."
Inter head to Bergamo on an eight-game league winning streak, which has left them one point clear of AC Milan on top of the table with a game in hand.
But Atalanta, who earned a 2-2 draw against the champions in Milan in September, are eight points behind Inter in fourth and Inzaghi was asked if the game represents a battle between title rivals.
“Absolutely, they are fourth and have finished third for the last three years, while continually improving,” he said.
Sanchez described himself as a “caged lion” after scoring the winner against Juve and hinted that he wanted more game time by saying: “The more a champion plays, the better he is.”
Inzaghi offered the Chilean, who has started four games in all competitions all season, no guarantees of a starting spot against Atalanta, but praised the 33-year-old’s attitude.
“He had already done well in the last few games. He has great qualities, he’s a positive guy who always wants to improve,” Inzaghi said.
“He trains with great enthusiasm and I’m very happy for him, I don’t think he needed the goal from the other night. For two months he has been a great resource.”
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