Simone Inzaghi admits that Inter Milan aren’t favourites against Man City, but feels they can win if they stay united.
Speaking to UEFA Champions League Magazine, via FCInterNews, the Nerazzurri coach gave his thoughts on the upcoming Champions League final against the Cityzens, stressing that even against a hugely formidable City team he’s confident.
So far this season, Inter have come up against Barcelona, Porto, Benfica, and AC Milan teams, and seen them all off.
On the other hand, two group stage matches against Bayern Munich saw the Nerazzurri struggle and lose on both occasions.
In any event, this Nerazzurri team seem to have gained momentum all through the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Now, they will come up against their biggest test in Premier League champions City. They will do so, however, having already proven just how strong they can be in Europe.
The Nerazzurri’s tactical solidity and organization has been key to their run through the competition so far.
Now, it will remain to be seen whether they can turn this into a win on the biggest of stages, against the toughest of opponents.
Inzaghi: Inter Can Do Something Special Against Man City
For his part, Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi believes that there’s something there for his team.
“We certainly won’t start as the favourites,” Inzaghi said of the final against City. “But football isn’t always like that.”
“We’re facing one of the strongest teams in the world,” he continued. “Who have a coach whose quality we’re all aware of.”
“When we stay united, we’ve shown that we can achieve anything,” Inzaghi said.
“Now we have to crown everything we’ve done so far, in a final that will be thrilling to experience.”
Of the team’s path to the final, Inzaghi said that “It’s been a long and difficult journey on the pitch.”
“But we’ve gotten to the final fully deservedly.”
“It’s a source of great pride for us,” the Inter coach continued. “It’s been a long time since an Italian team have been in the Champions League final.”
Inzaghi Looks Back On Porto, Benfica & AC Milan Ties
The Inter coach looked back on the round of sixteen tie against Porto, noting that “I asked the team to stay together. It was necessary to form a single block.”
“I knew how strong the team we were up against, and their coach,” he continued, referring to Sergio Conceicao. “In recent seasons they’ve ‘massacred’ Italian teams, eliminating them all.”
“Keeping two clean sheets certainly helped us a lot,” Inzaghi added of the Porto tie.
Then of the next round against Benfica, Inzaghi said that “We had a great match at the San Siro. It was a difficult quarterfinal tie, but we went through deservedly.”
The Nerazzurri coach also spoke about the semifinal tie against city rivals AC Milan.
“We knew that the semifinals would be a lot different that the quarterfinals and the round of sixteen,” Inzaghi said.
“It was a derby, and so we had a lot of pressure on us.”
“We started the tie in an extraordinary way,” Inzaghi continued. “We scored two goals in the first leg and we could’ve even scored more.”
“We went through deservedly, thanks to the hard work of the guys who showed immense determination and desire to bring home this incredible final.”
