Inter striker Romelu Lukaku is happy that the team head into the second leg of their Champions League round of sixteen tie against Porto with an advantage, even if it perhaps could’ve been a larger one.
Speaking to InterTV after yesterday evening’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the tie, via FCInterNews, the 29-year-old gave his reaction to a match which saw his late effort as the only goal of the game.
Both Inter’s Andre Onana and Porto’s Diogo Costa made some excellent saves which ensured that yesterday’s Champions League encounter was not a more high-scoring affair.
It was Lukaku’s goal in the final ten minutes, after Porto had went down to ten men, which proved to be decisive on the night.
However, it is hardly clear yet whether the Belgian’s effort will prove to be decisive over the two legs, and he is aware of the challenge in the second leg.
“I’m happy with the team’s win, I think that tonight we deserved to win a difficult match,” the striker said after the match.
“We have to keep going like this, in the league and then in the second leg where we hope to get the best result we can away from home,” he went on.
“We’ve been desperate for this win, it’s too bad we couldn’t make it 2-0, but we’re happy that we were able to beat a difficult side.”
Asked what he considered to be the decisive moment of the match, Lukaku named “Onana’s double save.”
“Today Andre had an excellent match,” the Belgian continued, “as did all of us who came on as substitutes.”
“It’s the same as when I arrived, there’s no drop-off between the starters and substitutes in this team,” he added.
“We approached this match with great tactical intelligence, and then it’ll be difficult in the second leg.”
“They have a huge stadium full of great fans,” Lukaku said of facing Porto away, “but we’ll arrive fully prepared.”