Inter striker Edin Dzeko is glad that he and his teammates managed to achieve a vital win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Speaking to InterTV following the match, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of the collective attitude to turning a strong performance into three vital points and qualification for the knockout rounds of Europe’s top competition.
Dzeko scored a second half brace to ensure that the Nerazzurri wrapped up qualification for the round of sixteen, alongside Real Madrid’s win over Sheriff Tiraspol.
The Bosnian’s display was solid, as was that of the entire team, but in the first half a number of missed opportunities gave the impression that the match could potentially drift towards another frustrating goalless draw.
Instead, the Nerazzurri kept probing, and in the second half Dzeko found a way to finish two chances and see the team to three points and a place in the round of sixteen for the first time in a decade.
“The coach instructed us not to let them play through their midfielders, Lautaro and I always tried to force them to pass it to where Barella or Hakan would come out,” he explained. “We pressed hard in the first half, we certainly could have scored one or two goals.”
“We must also give credit to the goalkeeper who made a great save on me,” he went on. “We didn’t manage to score in the first half, but the coach told us to be patient that the goal would come and it did.”
The Bosnian added that “I have fun, I always try to give my best, and when you win games it makes you even happier.”
“I have learned that you must never give up,” he concluded, “if you miss a chance and then you lower your head, you’ll only miss again. In the end the work always pays off and two goals arrived. I hope to score many more with Inter.”
