Leonardo impressed by Inter passion

Inter Milan boss Leonardo refused to criticise his defence after they won an eight-goal thriller against Roma on Sunday.

The defending Serie A champions were cruising to victory with 4-1 lead against 10-man Roma, but defensive lapses let the visitors recover to 4-3 with 10 minutes to play at the San Siro.

A late goal from Esteban Cambiasso confirmed the result for Inter, who moved within five points of league leaders AC Milan, and Leonardo was more than happy to focus on the positives from the match.

“We made life difficult for ourselves today, but I am not surprised by the goals we conceded,” he said.

“They were a free kick, a ricochet and a corner, but no real moves. It was a shaky moment of the match for us, but we did well to get a fifth and regain our concentration.”

“Is it a problem to concede so many goals? I can’t talk about bad things when I’m so happy with these wins. What matters is to keep going with this enthusiasm.”

Inter still have a game in hand on cross-town rivals Milan and are once again serious title contenders after recovering from a horrible start to the season.

“Are we the anti-Milan? This Serie A campaign will be a battle right to the end with many teams close together,” Leonardo said.

“You can see in every game just how complicated it is to get three points. Just look at the last few rounds and you’ll know there are more surprises in store.”

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri believes his side was unlucky to lose after putting up such a spirited fight, but admitted Inter’s physical strength was too much for his men to handle.

“We played a very good game and the incidents went against us,” Ranieri said.

“Inter deserve compliments for their performance, but so do we, as we reacted and tried to get a difficult situation back on track.”

“What we lacked was consistency in the pace of our football. It is a very physical Inter side, so it was the only way to beat them.”

“Without taking anything away from my squad, when you come up against a side like Inter, there are differences.”