Chivu revels in Inter success as youth shines in Venezia thrashing
Inter roared past Venezia in the Coppa Italia round of 16, much to the delight of head coach Cristian Chivu.
Cristian Chivu celebrated countless reasons for optimism as Inter hammered Venezia 5-1 to progress to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Marcus Thuram scored twice, as well as goals for Andy Diouf, Francesco Pio Esposito and substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny against their Serie B visitors at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Inter have now won seven of their last eight home games in all competitions (L1) after winning just three in front of their fans in the previous eight (D2, L3).
And head coach Chivu was left beaming at the full-time whistle as Inter progressed to the last eight of the competition for a 25th time in their last 30 attempts.
"I liked the attitude, the respect that they showed for their opponents," Chivu told Sport Mediaset.
"I am pleased for what the players showed tonight, but I knew they would, as they are motivated, want to give a sense of consistency to the good work done in recent months."
Matteo Cocchi, Leonardo Bovo and Matteo Spinacce, who usually represent the Under-23 side in Serie C, all made their senior debuts for the dominant hosts.
Esposito, aged 20 years, 158 days, became the youngest Inter player to score in the Coppa Italia since Mario Balotelli (19 years, 169 days against Juventus in 2010) to keep the youthful theme going.
And Diouf also scored his first goal in Inter colours on his maiden start, netting for the first time for any side since October 2024 when he found the net for Lens against Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
"I'm happy for those who played their first at San Siro, those Under-23 players who I knew pretty well," Chivu added.
"I'm pleased for Andy Diouf, who had his first start and full 90 minutes, and scored a goal. There are many reasons to be happy this evening.
"The lads deserve credit, and they were welcomed into the squad very well, too, by the old guard.
"Those who have been here for quite a few years and represent this club showed humility, helping the youngsters to immediately settle into the atmosphere at this club. It is a continual process of improvement."
The win also marked their largest Coppa Italia victory since a 6-2 thumping of Benevento in January 2019.
"We are well aware of what we want to do and how much work it will require to get there," Chivu added. "We know there are moments when things go well and others that go badly.
"Hopefully, I will have time over the course of the season to talk about some rubbish too. I'm sure I've said many in the past, but perhaps people didn’t notice."
