Inter are the team who are poised to give the best account of Italian football in the Champions League this season, according to Italian media.
This from today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, who argue that the Nerazzurri’s impact in Europe’s top competition will be a test for Italian teams on the continent in general.
The Nerazzurri face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu this evening, and they will be full of confidence for the match to decide top spot in their Champions League group.
Inter’s start to the Champions League was poor, with a frustrating 1-0 loss to Real at the San Siro followed by a goalless draw against Shakhtar Donetsk.
In their next three matches in the competition, however, the Nerazzurri produced three emphatic wins to secure progression to the knockout rounds, something that the Merengues have also done.
Not only that, but Inter’s domestic form has also been blistering, having won all their games since the return from the international break in style to charge to within a point of top of the table.
The Nerazzurri are the form team in Italy right now, serious contenders to defend their Scudetto crown, but their European challenges will also be very significant for their season.
Inter have failed to get out of the group stage of Europe’s top competition at the last three times of asking, and now they are in the round of sixteen for the first time in a decade.
Given how they have dominated domestically, the pressure will be on the Nerazzurri to seriously contend not just against Real but also against the favourites for the competition in the later rounds.
Inter have shown that they can take their game to another level in Serie A, and how they fare against the top sides of other leagues will act as an indicator for the level of the Italian top flight relative to the rest of the continent.
