“?Stefano Pioli has heaped praise on Mauro Icardi after the Inter Milan captain’s star performance in his side’s 3-0 victory over Lazio on Wednesday.
The Inter boss lauded his striker’s display by describing him as an ‘animal in the box’ after Icardi’s brace – along with Ever Banega’s first-half strike – helped the Serie A club sign off 2016 with a win.
The triumph at the San Siro was Inter’s fourth league win in a row, and cemented their place in seventh in Italy’s top flight ahead of the continental winter break over the Christmas period.
Speaking to reporters after the game, in quotes published by “?FourFourTwo, Pioli was asked about Icardi’s performance in particular and the 51-year-old failed to contain his delight at the attacker’s all-round display.
He said: “We put in a real team performance. We suffered in the first-half, but we eventually deserved our win after a good performance.
“Icardi was put in a position to do well because we played higher up the pitch in the second-half. Mauro is an animal in the box and got himself in the right positions to hurt Lazio.
“I would have loved to continue right now because the guys have suffered a lot. It will be a relaxed Christmas, but we have to remain focused because January will be very important. But these good results help us relax a bit.”
The victory over Lazio was Pioli’s fifth in eight matches since he replaced Frank de Boer in the hot seat at Inter, with the Nerazzurri now just five points off second-placed Roma ahead of the second half of the campaign.
Inter had struggled for form throughout the season under De Boer, but now harbour hopes of contesting for a Champions League qualification spot when Serie A recommences in January – an ambition that Icardi himself believes is attainable after a less than enthralling 2016.
? @MauroIcardi scored his 6th brace of the season last night; check out some other stats on #InterLazio here ?https://t.co/eKWjFypoud
He told reporters: “It was a good game. Everyone was brilliant both physically and mentally.
“We are working very hard. Let’s not waste what we have been doing recently and pick up where we left off after the winter break. We are hoping for a better 2017 because we deserve it based on our hard work.
“As for the Champions League, we are taking things game after game, trying to climb up in the league.”
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