Inter defender Milan Skriniar believes that the team owe a lot of thanks to their captain Samir Handanovic for his efforts to ensure a vital clean sheet in Saturday’s 1-0 Serie A win over Torino.
Speaking to InterTV ahead of this evening’s Champions League group stage clash with Viktoria Plzen, the Slovakian stressed the importance of the clean sheet and gave credit to the captain for his heroics to keep out a number of Granata shots on target.
Inter needed a win by the narrowest of margins against a very tough Torino team to get back to winning ways over the weekend, proving that they can overcome even the most physical and organized opposition.
The clean sheet meant that when the Nerazzurri broke through late on they secured three massive points, and sent a message that the team is starting to find some solidity at the back after a tough start to the campaign, and Skriniar feels that Handanovic is owed a lot for this.
“We needed to keep the door closed,” he said, “Samir had an extraordinary match which gave us a huge help. This is a starting point, in the next few match we have to continue not conceding goals, because then we have players who can create at the other end.”
Asked about his versatility, playing both on the left and in the centre of a back three, Skriniar said that “It was already like that last year, I put myself wherever the coach needs. I always try to be ready and help the team.”
And of this evening’s opposition, the 27-year-old said that “Erik Jirka has just arrived, I spoke with him the other day. I know how they play, we have to be careful not only of Erik but also of all their players because they have very physical attackers.”
