Inter centre-back Alessandro Bastoni was pleased with the Nerazzurri’s display in yesterday’s 1-0 win over Hellas Verona in Serie A, and is determined to win the Supercoppa Italiana.
The Italy international featured as Inter secured victory at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, courtesy of an early Lautaro Martinez goal, in their final match before they travel to Saudi Arabia to face AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana on Wednesday.
In an interview with Italian television broadcaster Sky Sport Italia after the final whistle, and as reported by FCInterNews.it, Bastoni insisted that he was satisfied with the win and that he was focused on ensuring Inter won the first piece of silverware of the season in Riyadh.
“We were solid, that’s what we wanted. In away matches we concede too many goals, we give the idea of being vulnerable but that’s not how we are. We wanted to be effective even if we weren’t great,” the 23-year-old claimed.
“A desire for revenge against AC Milan? Yes, it’s a trophy so we want to play well. Is it better to win this or the league? No player with ambition would answer that question, we know it will be difficult but we will try to win both.”
Bastoni only has 18 months remaining on his contract at Inter, but would not be drawn on discussions over a renewal and felt it was not an appropriate time to discuss a new deal.
“These things don’t concern me, we are calm. When the time comes we will talk about it,” the former Atalanta defender said.
The centre-back looked back upon Inter’s first game of 2023, in which they inflicted the only league defeat on runaway leaders Napoli with a 1-0 win, but then were held to a 2-2 draw against Monza.
“It was an important win that we were not able to build upon against Monza. Now we have a tough challenge in Riyadh, also because of the climate and the time difference. Winning would also give a big boost for the league campaign,” he concluded.
Bastoni joined Inter in 2017 but was immediately loaned back to Atalanta, before spending a season at Parma, and has featured 138 times for the Biscione since 2019.
