Inter Milan may have a one-goal cushion in their Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich after winning the first leg, but the Italian side must erase the scoreline from their minds for the return game, coach Simone Inzaghi said on Tuesday.
Davide Frattesi scored an 88th-minute winner to snatch a 2-1 victory over shocked hosts Bayern last week, which bolstered Inter’s hopes of claiming a treble.
Inzaghi’s side are three points clear of second-placed Napoli in the Serie A standings and have also made it to the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Asked if the pressure of competing on multiple fronts had left Inter’s squad tense ahead of their meeting with Bayern on Wednesday, the manager told reporters: “More than tension, there is great pride, for the way this season is developing.
“Tomorrow will be a very difficult match, we have to forget the result of the first leg but not the performance because we played a great match in Munich.
“We know the very high value of the opponent, we will have to play a great game with the right attitude.”
Inzaghi also hailed the quality of Bayern’s squad and the influence of coach Vincent Kompany, adding: “Winning in Munich is difficult, you have to be good, we are happy but we know that unfortunately it was not a final.
“In a little more than 24 hours we will have to do another test against what, together with Real Madrid, I think is the strongest team in the world… They are strong, they are a team full of talent with a coach I respected a lot as a player.
“He was a very intelligent player and he is proving it also as a coach. We must try to replicate the Munich game, playing very well technically to keep the ball as much as possible. It will be difficult because they put pressure on the opponent.”
The Italian manager also provided an injury update, saying: “Yesterday we had a short but intense training session, Federico Dimarco and Carlos Augusto were fine.
“Davide Frattesi and Nicola Zalewski who had had some little problems are fine.”
