Cristian Chivu has urged Inter Milan to maintain their high standards following their dominant 5-0 victory over Torino. He emphasized the importance of attitude, mentality, and intensity for their upcoming match against Udinese. Chivu acknowledged Udinese’s strengths and highlighted the need for his team to avoid complacency. He also discussed potential squad rotation due to Champions League commitments, stressing that changes will be based on merit and team needs. Key players to watch include Inter’s Marcus Thuram and Udinese’s Oumar Solet.
Inter Milan head coach Cristian Chivu has called on his players to maintain the high levels of maturity and mentality they displayed in their opening Serie A fixture. The Nerazzurri began their Scudetto campaign in emphatic fashion, demolishing Torino 5-0 at the San Siro, with Marcus Thuram bagging a brace in a memorable performance. This resounding victory marked only the third time in the club's history that they have won their first match of a new Serie A season by five goals or more, a feat they last achieved with a 6-0 win over Atalanta back in 1961.
Inter's dominance was reflected in the expected goals (xG) statistics, with the home side registering a total of 1.59 from their 20 shots, compared to Torino's 0.94 from 12 attempts. However, with Udinese set to visit the San Siro on Sunday, Chivu has emphasized the importance of maintaining these high standards on their home patch.
"The important thing is to maintain the attitude and mentality we had in the first game of the Championship," Chivu told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "Then, there are other things to maintain and improve, but the fundamental things are the attitude and mentality that you need to have from the start."
The Inter boss further stressed the need for his team to avoid complacency and approach the game with the same intensity and focus. "The team must not make mistakes in their attitude, they must have the right mentality, wickedness and aggression, but also the quality that we have," he said.
Chivu also acknowledged the threat posed by Udinese, highlighting their physical strength and tactical flexibility. "Udinese are also very structured from a physical point of view. They have shown good things in mobility and flexibility. They have a structured midfield, but also a lot of quality," he noted. "This year, they have changed the system, but the characteristics of the players are always the same, and it is always difficult to face a team like this."
— Inter (@Inter) August 28, 2025
With Inter set to embark on their Champions League campaign next month, Chivu addressed the possibility of rotating his squad to keep players fresh and maintain competition for places. He insisted, however, that any changes would be based on merit and the needs of the team, rather than simply for the sake of it.
"Playing every three days to keep the group motivated and maintain healthy competition and the right level, I need to please everyone but not lose meritocracy," Chivu explained. "The level must be high and meritocracy is the first principle I look at. A lot of games are not enough, you have to prepare as best you can for the opportunities for which the coach’s choices are for the good of the group. Everyone must deserve their place and show that they are competitive and valid solutions for our path."
Looking ahead to the game, Chivu pinpointed two players to watch from each side. For Inter, he highlighted the in-form Marcus Thuram. Since the start of last season, no player has netted more than one goal in a game more often in Serie A than Thuram (five, level with Mateo Retegui). The France international has also scored six goals in the top flight in August. In no other month of the year has he found the back of the net more often (also six goals in December).
From Udinese, Chivu identified Oumar Solet as a key threat. Should Udinese spring a surprise against the Serie A title hopefuls, they will need Solet to be at his brilliant best like he was in his last appearance against Inter. He scored his only top-flight goal against the Nerazzurri in March, and he will be a threat that Chivu’s side need to be aware of in the final third. Since his debut in Serie A (January 2025), Solet has completed the most dribbles of any defender in the competition (26 out of 31 attempted).
Inter have won their last five league matches against Udinese, scoring 14 goals in the process (an average of 2.8 goals per game). The Nerazzurri could win six successive meetings against this weekend’s opponents for the first time in Serie A. They have also impressed in defence, keeping a clean sheet in four of their last five league games, as many as they did in their first 17 Serie A matches of 2025. They could keep a clean sheet in back-to-back home league games for the first time since their opening two home matches of last term (in August 2024 against Lecce and Atalanta).
Udinese, meanwhile, have lost their last seven league away matches against Inter. Only against Fiorentina (13 between 2008 and 2020) and Napoli (10 between 2015 and 2023) have they suffered at least eight straight defeats on the road in their Serie A history.
Kosta Runjaic’s side have also won only one of their last 12 Serie A matches (drawn three, lost eight), with their last victory coming away to Cagliari on May 3, having won three meetings in a row without conceding between February and March. Following their 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona, Udinese could draw both of their first two matches in Serie A season for only for the fourth time, after 2001-02, 1982-83, and 1979-80.
Opta Win Probability: Inter – 68.9%, Draw – 17.9%, Udinese – 13.2%.