Luciano Spalletti: 'Inter Milan must start taking Champions League chances'

Inter Milan coach Luciano Spalletti has insisted that his side must take their remaining chances as they aim to claim a Champions League qualification spot come the end of the Serie A season.

La Beneamata had found themselves in the hunt having taken fourth spot only a few weeks ago, although a frustrating draw with city rivals AC Milan was followed by an away defeat at Torino last weekend, leaving Inter to drop down into fifth in the standings.

"There are increasingly fewer and fewer opportunities, which means they are worth more than ever and must be exploited," Spalletti told reporters ahead of this weekend's game away at Atalanta BC.

"We have to pick up a good result [against Atalanta] and give ourselves a chance to get back into the first four before the Rome derby.

"Everything is still in our hands, it all still depends on us. Myself, the team and the whole environment at Inter. We all know fully well who we are and what our situation is.

"We're where we expected to be and this is what we were aiming for at the start of the season. We're prepared for this final rush."

Inter trail both Roma and Lazio by a single point, and a victory at the weekend could see Spalletti's men move as high as third in the league.