Inter defender Matteo Darmian is expecting that Benfica will play an attacking, aggressive match right out of the blocks in tomorrow evening’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg clash at the San Siro.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia ahead of the match, via FCInterNews, the 33-year-old anticipated a very difficult match against a strong Benfica side who will have all the motivation in the world to get off to a quick start.
Inter carry a two-goal advantage from the first leg in Lisbon into tomorrow evening’s match.
This can be a big factor in the Nerazzurri’s favour, of course, but there will also still be ninety gruelling minutes to negotiate if they are to see out that lead.
In the form of Benfica, they meet an opponent who have proven their attacking quality even in matches against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and who will know that they have very little to lose by throwing the kitchen sink at the Nerazzurri, from the very first minute onwards.
“We’ll have to take the pitch with total concentration,” Darmian said ahead of tomorrow’s match, “I expect a Benfica side who’ll attack us and try to cause us problems right away.”
“We know their quality,” he added, “they have top-level players who can find a bit of brilliance at any moment.”
“We have to be at our best, we’re doing everything we can to prepare for it and we’ll be ready,” Darmian said.
“We know that tomorrow will be a difficult match,” he added, “we’ll have to have the same attitude and concentration that we had in the first leg.”
“We’re coming into it off the back of some bad form in the league, but at the moment we’re only thinking about the Champions League, the 33-year-old defender added of tomorrow’s match.