Inter Milan center-back Stefan de Vrij has delivered his verdict on an emphatic 4-0 UEFA Champions League triumph against Red Star Belgrade.
In a post-match interview with Inter TV, as reported by FCInterNews, the Netherlands international insisted the Nerazzurri utterly outplayed their below-par visitors.
De Vrij has barely featured for Inter this season, largely thanks to his niggling injury setbacks.
The 32-year-old has only made one Serie A start in 2024/25, mostly playing understudy to veteran star Francesco Acerbi.
However, head coach Simone Inzaghi decided to tweak his usual formation for tonight’s game.
After an exhausting 3-2 victory against Udinese last Saturday, Inzaghi recognized the need to rest his overused first-team stars.
Therefore, De Vrij had a rare chance to start this season, and he seized the opportunity.
He and his defensive colleagues Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni forged a formidable partnership in front of Yann Sommer’s goal.
That inevitably led to Inter’s second clean sheet in as many Champions League outings;
After the game, De Vrij commented on countless scoring chances Inter had against out-of-sorts Red Star.
Dutch Defender Stefan de Vrij Insists Inter Milan Dominated Red Star in Tuesday’s Champions League Clash
“We created, dominated the game against a team that was dropping, with a lot of quality and physicality,” De Vrij said.
“We were good and showed that we have grown and improved in ball turnovers, creating many chances.
“But we have to keep working and improving.”
Inter’s backline ran like clockwork last term. But Inzaghi’s defenders have shown signs of vulnerability in the early stage of this campaign.
None of that was on display tonight as Inter kept Red Star attackers at bay.
“We worked hard, we had physical and good players, we had to be preventive when we attacked,” De Vrij maintained.
“We have suffered some restarts so there is still room for improvement, but we will continue to work on this aspect.
“I try to work hard in training to be ready.”