The UEFA Champions League quarter-finals are only a day away, and Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is expecting another couple of tough fixtures against yet another Portuguese opponent. The Nerazzurri will tread carefully going forward against Benfica, having edged Porto 1-0 on aggregate in the previous round.
Inzaghi indulged in a heart press conference ahead of the anticipated encounter, and shed light on what he expects from Roger Schmidt’s men.
“We know how important this match is. It was a difficult path, we will play a team that is unbeaten this Champions League and that has scored 28 goals, including 7 in the round of 16, with 40 attempted shots. But we are Inter.” (via FCInterNews)
Inzaghi then urged his team to maintain composure and not let recent results get in their head.
“We will need our head and heart. I have no doubts about the heart, the head is important especially seeing the episodes of the last few games, which we shouldn’t think about. Benfica are a team that runs a lot, they’ve only lost two games this season, one of which on Saturday in the league. We’ll have to be good at playing our game.”
He then dished on the Nerazzurri’s two main absentees, Hakan Calhanoglu and Milan Skriniar.
“They are very important, and there are some absences for Benfica too. I would have liked to play the game with both teams complete. I hope to have Calhanoglu back on Saturday while for Skriniar perhaps it will take longer.”
Inzaghi and Inter will note that Benfica already have two wins against Italian opposition this term in the UCL, beating Juventus home and away in the group stages.
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