Inzaghi: ‘Inter do not have budget of PSG or Manchester City’ after remarkable 2nd final in 3 years

TURIN, ITALY – MAY 11: Simone Inzaghi, Head Coach of FC Internazionale, gestures during the Serie A match between Torino and FC Internazionale at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on May 11, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Simone Inzaghi notes Inter ‘don’t have the budget of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City or Bayern Munich, so we need to be better in terms of organisation’ in Serie A and the Champions League.

The Nerazzurri engaged in massive squad rotation after Tuesday’s epic Champions League 4-3 extra time victory over Barcelona at San Siro, which set up the Final against Paris Saint-Germain on May 31.

Despite that distraction and midweek exertion, they still came away from the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino with all three points thanks to a Nicola Zalewski moment of magic and the Kristjan Asllani penalty.

It means Inter are top of the table alongside Napoli, awaiting the Partenopei’s match against Genoa this evening.

“I said before the game, unfortunately the Scudetto is no longer in our hands, but we need to keep playing with focus like we did tonight, giving our all against a team that hadn’t lost yet in front of their home fans. We needed a tough performance and that’s what it was,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

Zalewski was given an unusual hybrid role, dropping deeper to help the midfield, but also pushing up to attack, which is how he managed to score the opening goal.

“He is doing very well and has a lot of quality. He actually started out as a mezz’ala and can also work as a wing-back,” explained Inzaghi.

“We were missing players like Calhanoglu and Barella, who worked so hard to play just some of the game, so we had this opportunity to use Zalewski with Correa supporting Taremi. We had been playing some good football until the heavens opened.”

Inzaghi has to rotate limited Inter squad

The game was halted several times by the weather, including a pitch inspection during the 30-minute half-time break.

“I need to give the lads some rest time after a long and hard season. For the players who were absent today, I don’t think we’ll get any of them back against Lazio, but we’ll see for the final match with Como.

“We’ve got to train with calm and joy, because anxiety gets you nowhere.”

This was also an historic milestone for Inzaghi, as it was his 150^th Serie A match on the Inter bench and the 100^th victory in the competition with this club.

The coach has above all taken the club to two Champions League Finals in the space of just three years, a remarkable achievement considering this squad cost less to assemble than any who reached the quarter-finals.

“I rewatched the semi-final against Barcelona, as I was curious to see it from a different angle. Everyone gave their all, that’s the only way you can reach a Champions League Final,” noted Inzaghi.

“People say Inter have a small squad, but we don’t have the budget of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City or Bayern Munich, so we need to be better in terms of organisation. With this heart, we can fight it out with everyone.”