Benitez breathes a sigh of relief

Rafael Benitez was relieved to see his Inter Milan side secure a much-needed win in a ‘crazy’ game against Parma at the San Siro on Sunday.

The defending champions lost 2-1 to Chievo last week, slipping nine points off the pace as pressure mounted on Benitez in his first season in charge.

The 5-2 victory against Parma, in which Inter came from behind with three goals in five minutes before the visitors struck the woodwork three times, will go some way to easing the pressure on the beleaguered Spaniard.

“I think it was a bit of a crazy game,” Benitez said.

“We proved that we could play it very well.”

“I want to thank the fans in the Curva for always supporting me and the team in this difficult moment for us.”

Benitez, who had the unenviable task of replacing treble winner Jose Mourinho as manager, has endured a torrid first campaign in Serie A.

A high number of injuries have restricted the 50-year-old’s options, and poor results have led to speculation that Inter President Massimo Moratti may be set to relieve the former Liverpool and Valencia boss of his duties just six months into the job.

Benitez denies that he is set for the chop, claiming the club appreciate the difficult position he has found himself in.

“My relationship with the president is normal. I am a professional, I have been working with my staff for 25 years and have never had so many injuries,” he said.

“There are many reasons behind all these setbacks. Anyone who thinks they are solely down to my training methods is ignorant.’

Parma coach Pasquale Marino felt the scoreline did little justice to one of his team’s best performances away from home this season.

“Conceding two goals like that really knocked the wind out of our sails,” Marino said.

“We had the chances to go 2-0 up and created so many scoring opportunities throughout the match. We were unlucky.”

“Apart from the two goals today, we had so many other chances. It was one of our best performances away from home.”