Christian Chivu admits Inter were ‘lucky’ to beat Venezia before Milan derby

Inter manager Christian Chivu admitted his side were fortunate to beat Venezia 2-0 in Serie A on Wednesday.

The victory came in the ninth round of the Italian league, but Chivu said Inter struggled to find their usual rhythm and were tested by Venezia’s defensive approach.

“We lacked energy and were slow in some aspects,” Chivu told Sky Sport. “We were also slightly surprised by the opponent’s deep defensive block, even though we expected it.

“We moved the ball slowly, but that can happen when you play a match every three days.”

Inter eventually secured all three points, although Chivu acknowledged that the result could have been different.

“We were lucky to come away with the win,” he said. “I do not know whether that is the most important thing, but what mattered was that we stayed in the game and continued to believe we could win.

“However, we were lucky as well.”

Chivu said matches in which a team lacks confidence are an inevitable part of a season and praised Venezia for making life difficult for his players.

“There are games like this during a season, perhaps two or three, when you go into them without enough confidence,” he added.

“We have to give credit to the opponent, who stopped us from moving in the right way and creating one-on-one situations. We also faced some difficult moments, but our experience and quality helped us find a way to win.”

Inter now face Milan in a highly anticipated city derby on Saturday, with the fixture forming part of the 10th round of Serie A.

Chivu said his players would need to recover quickly, both physically and mentally, after the demanding match against Venezia.

“We will try to recover physically and mentally,” he said. “I am talking about some players I had to sacrifice during the second half today to make a change.

“I wanted to replace everyone. We know derby matches have their own dynamics, and we will be ready.”