Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 7y

Joao Mario hails impact of Stefano Pioli as Inter Milan boss

Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario has praised Stefano Pioli for the impact he has made since replacing Frank de Boer, with the club climbing up to fifth in Serie A following a six-game winning streak.

Joao Mario netted his second goal of the season 10 minutes after coming on to replace Ever Banega on Sunday to earn Inter a 1-0 win at Palermo.

"The coach has changed a few players around and ensures we're always on our toes," he told Mediaset. "He knows the Italian league well and he has helped the team tactically, and now we are winning games and we have to carry on this way. It's not all about running a lot, it's about running well."

Joao Mario's goal unlocked a game in which top scorer Mauro Icardi, who has 15 Serie A goals this season, was off form. The midfielder says if Inter are to be successful this season then they need to have more players scoring the goals than just their captain.

"We all need to be ready to help Mauro because he can't do all the scoring," Joao Mario said. "We worked hard to win today and it was a very important win."

Roberto Gagliardini impressed once again at the heart of the Inter midfield, where he has already started making a name for himself following his transfer from Atalanta this month.

That is likely to be the only bit of business Inter will do in the current transfer window, though, according to their sporting director Piero Ausilio, who was quick to dispel rumours linking the club with a move for Lionel Messi.

"It's not easy to find players who are better than the ones we already have, but we are doing what we can to render Inter increasingly competitive," he is quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I wouldn't want to talk about Messi because that would just keep misleading the fans. It's true that our owners have big possibilities and ambitions, but there are limitations imposed by UEFA and we have to bear these in mind.

"I think our squad is set as it is. We know where we need to strengthen but we can't do that in the January transfer window. We have done what we had to do with Gagliardini, so there are not going to be any incoming surprises, although we might do something in terms of departures."

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