Inter centre back Andrea Ranocchia has revealed that Saturday’s 3-0 league win over Sassuolo has given the team confidence ahead of what he believes will be a tough match against Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
“It was a good win, very convincing. We played a great match against a very strong opponent who has been playing well for many years,” he explained in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, which was broadcast a short time ago.
“It certainly gave us confidence, but the Champions League is another thing and we have seen it in the last few games.
Ranocchia then shifted his focus to the Champions League, which Inter are in a situation where they must win or they will be eliminated from the competition at the group stage for the third successive year.
“We are ready to go and play the game with the aim of winning it. We can have no other result. It’s a final. We will be in or out.
“We have to take the three points home. This is the important thing. Everything that happens outside the team must not be touched.”
The former Genoa player then went on to share his thoughts about tomorrow night’s opponents who they drew 2-2 with in the reverse fixture earlier on in the group stage.
“Borussia Monchengladbach? I think they will set up as they did last time, very aggressive. They are a very physical team and have good individuals.
“They are also doing well right now. It will be a tough match but we are doing well too and I think we will have a great performance.”
Ranocchia then went on to come to the defence of Inter right wing-back Achraf Hakimi who has come in for some criticism as of late from the Italian media.
“With what I have experienced in so many years at Inter, when things go well we always try to downplay it and always see the positive aspects. When things go wrong it almost always seems to be thrown away.
“Instead, every moment must be read in the right way. We are now at the start of the year and we are in the running for all our goals.
“The media attack the players a lot. Now they attack Hakimi but he is a young boy, he came in to a completely different league from the German one, he must acclimatise with the language and the way of life.
“He has quality. At Inter you don’t have time because in the big teams you don’t have time, but prejudice and the hasty judgment of situations is very often exaggerated.”
This season Ranocchia has found playing time extremely limited. The 21 time Italian national representative has made just three appearances across all competitions to date, in which he has provided a single assist for his teammates.
