Inter defender Matteo Darmian makes no secret of the Nerazzurri’s hunger to keep going on in the Champions League and to win the Coppa Italia, but also stresses the significance of their next Serie A match against Lazio.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset, via FCInterNews, the 33-year-old also stated that deciding to commit his future to Inter by signing a contract extension was hardly a difficult decision for him.
Inter find themselves facing the most decisive portion of their entire season.
In the league, the upcoming run of fixtures will determine whether the Nerazzurri are able to claw back their place in the top four of the Serie A table, or whether they will miss out on next season’s Champions League (barring, of course, winning this season’s edition of the competition).
Meanwhile, Inter have booked their spot in the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina by beating Juventus on Wednesday evening, and will play a two-legged Milan derby semifinal in the Champions League for a chance to face Manchester City or Real Madrid in European club football’s biggest match.
Of reaching the Coppa Italia final with a win over Juventus, Darmian said that “We’re very happy about a win that takes us to the Coppa Italia, where we’ll have another chance to win a trophy.”
“We’ve reached the Coppa Italia final, which was one of our objectives for the season, and which will allow us to play in the Supercoppa next season as well,” he continued.
“We’re in the Champions League semifinal as well, which is a huge achievement, though right now our focus is on Sunday’s match against Lazio as we need points in the league.”
“It will be a massive match,” Darmian said of the clash with the Biancocelesti, “we’re against a top team who are very well-organization, but we’ll do everything to prepare for it and take home the win.”
Of beating Empoli to finally get back to winning ways in the league after a great European night against Benfica, Darmian stressed that “This has to be the normal for Inter.”
“The win against Empoli was important because it allowed us to put a bad run in the league to an end.”
“Now we have to keep going like this until the end of the season, and have a great season finale,” the 33-year-old emphasized.
Asked if there’s regret at the number of points that this team has dropped in the league so far, Darmian replied “Absolutely, we know that we haven’t had the consistency that we’ve needed in Serie A, and that we’ve dropped too many points already.”
“But now we have to look ahead, starting with Sunday’s match which is massive for us,” he added.
Asked about what his own return to his best form this season means to him, Darmian stressed that “I’m happier if the team does well and if we reach the objectives that we set for ourselves at the start of the season.”
“Personally I’m happy, I can feel the trust from everyone around me and that pushes me to improve every day.”
And regarding his contract extension until the end of June 2024, Darmian said that “It was an easy decision, I’ve been happy here from day one and I feel the trust from everyone.”