Chivu is happy Inter Milan won the match against Juventus

Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu is relieved that his team can return to winning matches against top teams when the Nerazzurri won 3-2 over Juventus in an Italian League match, Sunday morning WIB.

"It's been two years since the last time we won a very decisive match like this, and the players feel the pressure. But we did what we had to do and won. We tried to hurt Juventus and put on a full-character performance," Chivu said, quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, February 15.

The victory makes Inter now temporarily distancing themselves from the pursuit of second-placed team, AC Milan, with a gap of eight. Inter have 61 points from 25 games.

Meanwhile, Juventus stalled in fourth place with 46 points.

Chivu even admitted that his team did not perform fully according to plan. The factor of stamina and calmness is said to be the main obstacle in executing the strategy that has been prepared.

"I hope today's victory will be a turning point. The team doesn't have the stamina and composure to execute everything we've prepared, but I still accept this victory. It feels a lot of pressure because we haven't beaten a big team for a long time. We should have been able to manage the game better, but the team's character finally came out: we wanted to win and managed to do it through Zielinski's goal," said the Romanian coach.

In that match, Inter took the lead through Andrea Cambiasso's own goal in the 17th minute. Cambiasso then paid for his mistake by scoring the equalizer in the 26th minute.

Juve then had to play the rest of the match with 10 players after Pierre Kalulu received a red card in the 42nd minute.

Pio Esposito's goal restored Inter's lead in the 76th minute.

Before Manuel Locatelli scored the equalizer for Juventus in the 83rd minute.

Inter finally sealed the victory 3-2 thanks to Piort Zielinski's goal in the 90th minute.

In addition to highlighting the mental aspect, Chivu also responded to the referee's decision to send off Pierre Kalulu after receiving a second yellow card.

According to him, the incident actually occurred due to a light touch, but still gave room for the referee to make a decision.

"Second yellow card and red card for Kalulu? For me it was a light touch, but still there was a touch. I always tell my players not to put the referee in a situation where they have to make a decision. My players felt there was a touch because he got to the ball first, and a player with experience like Kalulu shouldn't use his hands if he already has one yellow card," said Chivu.

Furthermore, Chivu hopes that this victory will be a momentum of revival for Inter in the hunt for this season's target.

With 13 games left, he stressed that the journey is still long and his team must continue to improve.

"There are still 13 more matches; this season is still long. I always talk about mental development and how we play. Today we continue to try, and I decided to include one more attacker to try to win it. Then Zielu (Zielinski) showed his quality, and the decision paid off," he said.