Inter, Spalletti: "The match against Sassuolo is like a semifinal. Champions League? I've always thought we could achieve it."

As Inter's season winds down with two matches that will decide an appearance in the Champions League next season, their coach Luciano Spalletti previewed the first of those, a home tie against Sassuolo. There will be focus as well on the next match, where a critical 3 points between Inter and Lazio, the team directly ahead of them, could be up for grabs. Here were Spalletti's comments in his pre-match press conference: "I watched the players training the right way and that shows that their thoughts are only on the field, this season has been like a long tournament and tomorrow will be like a semifinal, which will give us an opportunity to play in the final against Lazio in the next match. Last year after the 32nd match we were 16 points behind Roma and a wide distance behind the others. Now we are above Milan and Atalanta and we are closer to the top clubs. You can take these numbers and decide for yourselves if we've improved or the others have gotten worse. We had difficulty in some parts of the season but now we are very close to becoming a strong team. I would have signed to be in this position, but I have always believed in the Champions League, I have always thought about being able to fight until the very last match. Cancelo and Rafinha have made an impact by doing some of everything. They have helped us solve some of our problems. Miranda? If there are still doubts before the match I won't risk him. He has improved, but I left him out against Udinese as a precaution. We will see tomorrow morning. Will Inazaghi play De Vrij? I can only speak for myself."