Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan believes that the Nerazzurri must make sure to avoid complacency after their 2-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg yesterday evening.
Speaking to InterTV after the win at the Estadio da Luz, via FCInterNews, the Armenian lauded the team for a cool-headed performance, but also made sure to stress that there’s still a second leg to be played.
Inter certainly took a big step towards the semifinals of Europe’s top club competition with their win over Benfica yesterday evening.
However, at the same time, the fact is that the Nerazzurri are really only at half-time in the tie, in a certain sense.
Ninety minutes plus stoppage time will be a lot of football to be played at the San Siro the next week.
Even with the advantage that playing in front of their home fans will confer on them, Inter will face a tough battle to see out the 2-0 lead that they’ve given themselves yesterday at the da Luz, playing against one of the outstanding teams in Europe this season.
It was already a real battle yesterday evening in Lisbon, with the Nerazzurri needing to put everything into it to get the result that they did.
“All matches are tough, there are no matches that are easily won,” Mkhitaryan stressed afterwards.
“We came here to win and we showed it, we deserved the result.”
“Still, it’s not over yet,” the 34-year-old former Roma and Arsenal man added, “We have to face them again in a week and we hope to win.”
“Tonight it was important to keep our heads, stay calm,” Mkhitaryan said.
“We were patient, in the first half we weren’t able to finish the chances that we created, but then fortunately we got the job done in the second half.”
“Now we have a week to prepare for the return leg, we know it will be a tough match and we have to prepare for it.”
