Inter striker Lautaro Martinez can still recall scoring his first Champions League goal against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Speaking to InterTV ahead of this evening’s meeting with the Blaugranas, the 25-year-old reflected that his first campaign in the Champions League ultimately ended in disappointment, and stressed that this season has to be better.
Martinez had an eventful introduction to the Champions League in his first campaign with Inter, but in the end the Nerazzurri were unable to make the knockout stages from a group containing Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur.
The next season, the Nerazzurri once again encountered the Blaugranas in the Champions League, and once again failed to progress from a group that also contained Borussia Dortmund.
This time around, Inter have drawn Barcelona again, and this time it is Bayern Munich who are the third tough team in the group.
Now, Inter have the chance to finally progress from a group containing the Blaugranas, after beating them last week.
However, in order to do so they could well need to get a result against the Camp Nou, something Martinez has yet to experience.
Looking back to his first goal in the Champions League, Martinez reflected that “It was a beautiful day but it was tough because we lost.”
He continued that “The result at San Siro was important for us, now we want to go for it tomorrow.”
Of what the team need if they’re to get a result tomorrow, Martinez said “Surely a lot of personality and the desire to keep the ball and to win by playing the way we’ve prepared to, taking advantage of the spaces that Barca leave in behind.”
“When we’re in their final third we’ll have to stay focused to hurt them.”
Of the team’s attack, he said that “There are absences due to injuries, but those of us who are playing are in good form because we’re preparing well, as we should be for an occasion like tomorrow.”
