Sports News

Inzaghi calls on Inter players to forget advantage over Bayern and produce dominant display at San Siro


Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi has urged his players to forget about the advantage held over Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final.

The Serie A winners lead Harry Kane and Co. 2-1 after the first leg in Munich but will not be taking anything for granted when Vincent Kompany’s men come to town.

Speaking ahead of the game, Inzaghi said: “We know that it will be really difficult tomorrow. We have to forget about the result of the first leg, but not the performance we put in in Munich.

“We had a great game, but we know that our opponents have a lot of quality. We will have to play a great game, running, aggressiveness, with the right attitude. It’s a quarter-final, the first half was played in Munich and tomorrow we’ll have the second.”

Inter remain at the top of Serie A, ahead of Napoli and Antonio Conte, who are on the hunt.

But the European giants will have to put the pressures of a domestic title race to one side and focus solely on their run in the Champions League.

Inzaghi added: “We know it’s a tiring season, but playing every three or four days can add to that. We had the new Champions League this year, new for us coaches and the players. It took away a lot of additional energy.

“Just think about last year’s journey: We qualified in Salzburg on November 8, while this year we had to wait until January 29 against Monaco. For two months in advance last year, we only had one goal to focus on. Now there is a lot more effort, but a lot more satisfaction.

“Like I said at the beginning, we can’t think about the result, just about the performance we gave. We don’t have to look at precedents, which have not always been positive when Inter host Bayern here in San Siro.

“The boys are positive, though, and the team knows that we will play against a great opponent. We respect them, but we can have a great game with the right attitude.”

Celebration police

Inter were criticised for the manner of their celebrations following the win at Allianz.

Many reminded the players that there is still 90 minutes to be played, but midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan believes it is a good mindset to approach every game as if it is their last.

He said: “We know what we did, we know we were just happy—there were no celebrations. We want to stay focused on our match, on our game, and nothing else.

“There are a lot of people who talk off the pitch, outside the club, and we try not to hear or listen to any of that. That’s just how football works.

“We’re calm. We’re mature, we have the experience we need: we know we have to win every game, whether it’s the Champions League, Serie A, or Coppa Italia.

“We don’t need to listen to what’s said off the pitch or in the media. We know where we want to go, and to get there you have to win every single day – starting in training, and then in matches.

“We’re not bothered by it because we take responsibility for the results we’re achieving.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Close

Adblock Detected

Kindly Turnoff your Ad-blocker.