Calhanoglu: ‘Derby defeat hurt, but gave Inter different fire’

Hakan Calhanoglu recognised the derby defeat to Milan ‘hurts’ Inter, but it has also given them a ‘different fire’ for today’s showdown against Udinese.

It kicks off at the Bluenergy Stadium at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Genoa–Juventus and Bologna–Atalanta on the LIVEBLOG.

It has not been a strong start to the season for the reigning Champions of Italy, who drew away to Genoa and Monza, then lost the Derby della Madonnina to their bitter rivals Milan.

In fact, they go into this Week 6 clash behind Udinese in the Serie A standings, as Inter are on eight points compared to the Friulani’s 10.

“That defeat to Milan gave us a different fire. We know that it hurts and that it will be tough today too, but we worked hard in training, I have faith in the team,” Calhanoglu told DAZN.

Calhanoglu saw run of Inter derby wins ended

It was an unexpected defeat precisely because Inter had dominated the Derby della Madonnina in recent years, winning an extraordinary six on the bounce in all competitions.

“After a derby loss, we need to get back on our feet and we’ve had a lot of derbies, winning six in a row. I know it hurts, because we wanted to give our fans a victory, but Milan deserved to win that day. We know that we are strong and need to prove it today,” continued Calhanoglu.

“We talk less and work harder, because we are not accustomed to losing many games. A defeat can happen, we trained well this week with the right level of determination and now have to put that on the pitch.”

Nicolò Barella is out injured after a muscular problem during the derby, so Davide Frattesi revamps the midfield, with Denzel Dumfries and Benjamin Pavard benched in favour of Matteo Darmian and Yann Bisseck.