JAKARTA - Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi urged his players to forget the difficult week and face Barcelona without fear as they try to get their season back on track in the Champions League semi-finals on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Inter have lost three games in a row in all competitions for the first time since 2017.
They were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by AC Milan and suffered successive defeats in Serie A, which allowed Napoli to replace them at the top of the table.
They will face Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Olympic Lluis Companys Stadium.
A week ago, Inter's season was still promising with three titles in sight, but now risks ending without a trophy.
"Give it all about last week. For four years, these players have done amazing things and they keep doing it."
SEE ALSO:
"Last week didn't delete the job. It's been a great season. We've analyzed the last three games."
"We have to do better, but after four years we (still) are here to compete."
"Until last week, we struggled for every trophy when some said it would be difficult to enter the top four in Italy."
"You will never hear me speak ill of these children and the team. Thanks to them, we have gone beyond all expectations over the past four years," Inzaghi told a news conference before the match.
Inzaghi, who has won one Serie A title and two Coppa Italia as Inter coach, is targeting a second Champions League final with the Nerazzurri after finishing runners-up under Real Madrid in 2023.
The problem is, this time's enemy is Barcelona who topped La Liga and has just won the Copa del Rey after beating Real Madrid in the final.
Inzaghi praised the work his colleague Hansi Flick has done since taking over the Blaugrana last summer.
"We may be fighting the best team in the world right now. We have to be very technically clean."
"We need a lot of components to be able to compete with a team that strong. Flick is a great coach who has set up the team very well in attack."
"They got the ball back quickly when they lost it. They have attackers, midfielders and a lot of great players from the academy."
"So, as much respect as possible, but don't be afraid, we will look them in the eyes, as we did against Bayern (Munchen in the quarter-finals)."
"There are great teams in this tournament, but we want to express our opinion," said Inzaghi again.
Inter will play without defender Benjamin Pavard at Barcelona headquarters, but striker Marcus Thuram can return to service after returning to training.
"Thuram has trained with the team. He did a good job. The signs are positive but we have to judge it tomorrow," said Inzaghi.
If fit, Thuram will partner with Lautaro Martinez in attack. Both have scored 38 goals in all competitions this season and Martinez said the team was united to the goal of reaching the Champions League final.
"We've been doing great work this year until last week, where we lost three games in a row."
"It hasn't happened in a long time. We're used to winning, so it hurts even more when we lose."
"However, this team is good, strong, and united. The key to a team is to have a solid group. We are ready for the game."
"We are excited because in three years we have reached two Champions League semifinals. We have done great work in this tournament."
"Now we want to fulfill the fans' dreams and bring Inter to another final. We are confident and looking forward to that possibility," the Argentine international told a news conference.
Inter will host Barcelona in the second leg at the Giuseppe Meazza next week, with the winner meeting Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in the final in Munich, May 31, 2025.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
