Inter defender Matteo Darmian admits that there’s something a bit inexplicable about the discrepancy between Inter’s form in the Champions League and the league.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Amazon Prime ahead of this evening’s Champions League match against Benfica, via FCInterNews, the 33-year-old addressed the odd situation with the Nerazzurri struggling in Serie A but flying high in Europe’s top club competition.

Inter have a chance this evening to play for a place in the final four of the Champions League, where they would meet city rivals AC Milan.

Nothing is done yet, but the team could feel that they’ve already taken a big step by winning the first leg of their quarterfinal tie against Benfica 2-0 in Lisbon.

This comes amid the Nerazzurri’s worst run of form in the league not just this season, but in several years, with four losses having come in just five matches.

This discrepancy has hardly gone unnoticed, and a lot of questions have been asked about exactly why this team cannot turn their exploits in Europe into form in the league.

Of this situation, Darmian admitted that it’s “Hard to explain.”

“In the league, we struggle to unlock matches and then maybe we end up conceding a goal from the first opportunity we allow,” he continued.

“But now we’re focused on the Champions League, we’ll go back to thinking about Serie A from Thursday onwards.”

“The important thing, beyond my own personal performance which I’m happy with, is that the team has to continue to do well in the Champions League, as it has done so far,” Darmian said.

“We need the right attitude to bring home the next round.”

“When the defense plays well, it’s due to the efforts of the entire team,” the 33-year-old went on, “starting with the forwards who always give us a big hand.”

“We’ll have to have the right defensive attitude once again and be careful because we know the quality they have,” he said of facing Benfica.