Marotta: ‘Inter ambitious without being arrogant, but that Como penalty…’

Beppe Marotta delights in Cristian Chivu’s joke because Inter must be ‘ambitious without being arrogant,’ but daren’t imagine the controversy if that Como penalty had been decisive.

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The Nerazzurri extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table to nine points with last night’s thrilling comeback from 2-0 down at the Stadio Sinigaglia to win 4-3.

Inter thriller put Scudetto marker down

“Como vs. Inter was first and foremost a wonderful advertisement for Italian football,” Marotta told reporters outside the Lega Serie A meeting in Milan.

“Inter deservedly won thanks to the qualify expressed by a team that proved itself worthy of the role of protagonist in this season.”

When asked if the title race was over, Chivu aimed a sideswipe at Napoli’s Antonio Conte and Max Allegri of Milan by noting that, like them, he would only ever say that Champions League qualification was the real objective.

“It was a joke to show that in Italy lately there is this fear of courageous targets,” noted Marotta.

“Instead, Inter must be courageous and always aim for the maximum result. This is part of the DNA of a winning club, we must be ambitious without being arrogant.”

Inter had been leading 4-2 when Lucas Da Cunha converted a late penalty to set up a tense finale, but there was controversy around that incident.

The referee had awarded a free kick for the Ange-Yoan Bonny sliding block on Nico Paz on the edge of the area, only to be informed by VAR that the contact was inside the box.

What many refereeing pundits pointed out was that VAR should also have sent the referee to view it again on the monitor, because it was Nico Paz who on the follow-through kicked Bonny rather than the other way round.

“I think everyone agreed that was not a penalty, and we didn’t get upset because we won anyway, but imagine what would’ve happened if that penalty had led to a different result,” said Marotta.

“We’d be here recriminating. There are mistakes over the course of a campaign, and this season there seem to be quite a lot more than usual. I hope it can push people to reflect on creating a symbiosis between the VAR and referee.”