Inter Milan Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu: ‘Can’t Wait To Play Tomorrow, Benfica Won’t Give Up But We’re Ready’

Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is looking forward to tomorrow evening’s Champions League match against Benfica.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, the 29-year-old also made clear that the Nerazzurri will not be underestimating the Portuguese champions.

Tomorrow evening, Benfica will face Inter at the San Siro.

The two teams had previously met just a few months ago, in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

And this time around, the two teams face off in the group stage of the competition.

Neither got off to an ideal start to their group stage campaign.

Inter could only scrape a draw away to Real Sociedad in their opening match. That came courtesy of a Lautaro Martinez equalizer late in the match.

And in truth, it was hardly a result that the Nerazzurri deserved, as it had been the home side in the ascendancy for much of the match.

And for Benfica it was even worse.

Playing at the Estadio da Luz, the Portuguese fell to a 0-2 defeat against Red Bull Salzburg.

Inter Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu Looks Ahead To UCL Clash Vs Benfica

Midfielder Calhanoglu was not in the squad for Inter’s opener against Real Sociedad.

The Turk was out of that match with a minor injury.

But now, Calhanoglu is fully fit and will be ready to play against Benfica.

“I wanted to be in the team against Real Sociedad,” the 29-year-old noted. “But in the end we decided that I would have to rest given the muscle problem.”

“And that was important because otherwise I would have risked prolonging my absence,” he noted.

Calhanoglu made clear that “I can’t wait to play tomorrow, because it will be a very important match in front of our fans.”

“We’ve been play every three days,” the Turk noted.

“It wasn’t easy in Salerno, but we had a good second half and we’re happy.”

Calhanoglu also looked back to last season’s run to the final of the Champions League.

“It was a huge achievement for us to reach the final,” he said. “It wasn’t easy last year, because Benfica have a lot of quality in their squad and play with a very aggressive press.”

“We know what we’re up against tomorrow,” he added.

Calhanoglu said that he expects “A team that never gives up and always looks to get forward.”

“But we’re prepared,” he added. “Last season we won, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”