Chivu, speaking to Sky Sport, defended his defender Alessandro Bastoni after the controversial incident that led to Pierre Kalulu's sending off.
"For me, it's a light touch, but it's still a touch. It needs to be said, it needs to be acknowledged. When I suffered mistakes like this in the Champions League, I always said you shouldn't put the referee in a position where they have to make a decision... A touch is a touch, even if it's slight, and that has to be recognized. My player felt the hand because he got there first, and the referee decided to show a second yellow to an experienced player like him, who should know to keep his hands away in these situations..." he said.
Bastoni was substituted at halftime: "I took him off because I was worried about Francisco Conceição. If I had known he would be subbed at halftime, maybe I would have left him on the pitch."
Chivu can be pleased to have finally won a direct clash against an excellent Juventus side: "We have struggled in these situations, it had been two years since we won a direct encounter and the players felt that. With heart and by doing what was needed, we managed to win. I take pride in the heart and the pursuit of victory against a team that, since Luciano arrived, has made life difficult for any opponent. It's only fair to congratulate them because they're a great team."
The three points put the Nerazzurri in contention for a possible early title: "I hope today's win is a turning point. I wasn't happy with the team's performance today; we lacked energy and clarity to impose our game. But in the end, the win is what matters because it was crucial. You could feel the weight of not having beaten a top team in two years. Credit must also go to Juventus, who made things difficult for us. Even with ten men, they managed to equalize and complicate things. At 2-1, we should have managed the game better, maybe there was some fear of not winning and we ended up struggling. In the end, the team's character came through, and we kept fighting for the win until the last minute."
Bisseck: "Red card for Kalulu? I didn't see anything"
Yann Bisseck spoke at the press conference after his Inter side's win over Juventus. The German defender was immediately asked about the red card shown to Kalulu at the end of the first half, a moment that sparked a lot of controversy.
"I didn't see anything, I was on the right side and didn't understand what happened. I can't comment. It's true that we need to do better; a strong team like ours can't concede a goal so easily," he said. Bisseck went on, trying to focus on the positives: "We'll have to review the match to see what we can improve. We always believed in the win, and in the end, we're all happy."
After the match, still on the pitch, the scorer of the decisive goal, Piotr Zielinski, also spoke. The Polish midfielder, who netted the final 3-2, admitted: "Without a doubt, it was the most important goal, but it was the work of the whole team. We're going to enjoy this success because it's something extraordinary."
When asked about finally beating a big rival, something that had been missing this season, the Pole replied: "We wanted to win, Juve are a huge team, but we've shown our strength in other games too. We're going to enjoy this because we beat a great Juve."