Inter centre-back Stefan De Vrij was delighted to make a goalscoring return to action as he netted in the 3-0 Serie A win over Sampdoria yesterday evening.
The defender had been out of action for three weeks with a calf injury sustained against Barcelona in the Champions League, but started the match against Sampdoria and opened the scoring with a header from a corner in the first half.
In an interview with Italian television broadcaster Sky Sport Italia after the final whistle at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, as reported by FCInterNews.it, the Dutch international admitted that his goal was an important step in the Nerazzurri being able to create more chances in the game.
“It was certainly important to unlock the game, we looked for the goal but we didn’t have great chances, so it was important to unblock it to try to score again,” the former Lazio centre-back claimed.
It also marked De Vrij’s first goal in all competitions since October 2021, and the 30-year-old was relieved to have ended his drought in front of goal against the Blucerchiati.
“I haven’t scored in a long time, I’m happy on a personal level but also that the team is doing better than at the beginning of the season, I always do my best when I play.
“We have improved, but we need to keep on getting better.
“The results are positive, the important thing is to keep winning because we are behind in the table.”
Having worked his way back to full fitness and made an immediate impact, De Vrij would not be drawn on whether he expected to keep his starting spot.
“These are choices of the coach that we have to accept, then when I am given the opportunity I try to give my best,” he claimed.
“It’s obvious that we are not happy when we don’t play, everyone wants to start.”
The centre-back also suggested that Inter were being adaptable in defence to match up against opponents, and cited the recent draw and victory over Barcelona as an example.
“It depends on the opponent, as with Barcelona you know that you will have less ball and you have to be active in the defensive phase.
“At the beginning of the season we didn’t do it well, now we are improving but we need to improve further by giving consistency to these performances.”
The Netherlands international is a proficient musician and revealed he’d be happy to come to Sky Sport Italia’s studio to play the piano.
“Sure, I’ll come whenever you want. The piano relaxes me, I play every day,” he concluded.