[D-Kin]

Mancio enjoys trident test Wednesday 12 December, 2007

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Roberto Mancini may use the trident attack again in future and assures Inter’s victory in Eindhoven was not a foregone conclusion.

“This was certainly not a friendly. It was in the Champions League and PSV still had some chance of qualifying,” said the Coach after their 1-0 win.

The Nerazzurri were already secure of top spot in their group, but the Dutch outfit needed a result and for Fenerbahce to struggle against CSKA Moscow. Their chances were further hit when they went down to 10 men after 29 minutes.

With so many players injured or suspended, Mancio opted for Julio Cruz, Hernan Crespo and David Suazo upfront.

“The trident went pretty well, as they moved around, helped each other and created chances. Obviously it can improve with time.”

This match allowed long-term injury cases like Marco Materazzi and Crespo to regain their fitness.

“Materazzi was able to stay on the field for 90 minutes. After 70 he got a little tired, but he grit his teeth and did well,” explained Mancini.

“Crespo also needs to play. He has games sometimes where nothing seems to be going his way, but then when he breaks that deadlock you can’t stop him.”

The draw for the next round does not phase the tactician, who insists even a seemingly easy pairing won’t mean anything.

“Every club is strong, plus things could change from now to February, so it would be silly to predict now what will happen then.”

It remains to be seen whether Adriano will be placed back into Inter’s Champions League squad list when he finishes his rehabilitation programme in Brazil.

“Adriano has gone to Brazil to get out of this difficult moment. He is training hard and things seem to be going well, so we all hope when he returns in January he’ll be in good shape.”

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