Inter coach Simone Inzaghi believes that the team’s outstanding form in the Champions League throughout this season can all be traced back to their match against Barcelona in October.

Speaking to InterTV following the Nerazzurri’s 3-3 draw against Benfica in the Champions League round of sixteen second leg, via FCInterNews, the coach stressed the self-belief that the team took from drawing with the Blaugranas at the Camp Nou.

Inter are in the semifinals of Europe’s top club competition, where they will face city rivals AC Milan.

The Nerazzurri had to beat Portuguese sides Porto and Benfica to get that far, but even before then they needed to navigate a “group of death” containing both Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Whilst the Germans proved impossible to overcome, finishing the group stage with six wins from six, Inter were able to get a win and a draw against Barcelona in an early signal that their European adventure could really be something special.

“The match in Barcelona certainly gave us great self-belief, because we played on equal footing with a top team who had been considered favourites on the night, in an incredible stadium,” Inzaghi said of the 3-3 draw with the Blaugranas.

Of reaching the semifinals, the coach said that “It’s a great source of satisfaction, which I’ll share with the players, the fans, and the club.”

“It’s a great result that we were desperate for, and we deserved it up against a top team.”

Of how he would described his team, Inzaghi used the word “Historic.”

“Looking at what they’ve done in the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, they’re proving to be great.”

“In the league we’ve dropped points and found ourselves chasing in a packed fixture list, but we’re happy and we want to keep going,” the coach added.

Of the match against Benfica, Inzaghi said that “Our approach was the right one.”

“We played a great match, we created a number of chances.”

“We knew that Benfica would ramp up the tempo in the second half, but we did well to cover all areas of the pitch,” he added.

Of facing AC Milan in the semifinals, Inzaghi said that “We know what it will mean for everyone, we’ll face it at our best.”

And regarding the support of the fans, the coach said “I have to be honest, in the eighteen months I’ve been in Milan they’ve always supported us, they’ve celebrated with us.”

“Fortunately here there’s something to celebrate, but even in the times when we’ve lost matches they’ve always been behind us.”