Francesco Acerbi has insisted that Inter did not celebrate their initial 2-0 win over rivals Milan in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final last Wednesday as there is still plenty of work left to do in the reverse fixture this Tuesday.
The 35-year-old was chosen to accompany coach Simone Inzaghi at the pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon ahead of the second leg at San Siro, where the two sides will compete for a place in the Champions League final.
Despite putting in a dominant display against the Rossoneri in the first game of the tie, particularly in the first half, Acerbi believes that Inzaghi’s side still need to be wary of the threats that Milan pose.
He told reporters: “We will have to do even more, Milan will want to overturn the result and we are aware of that. We know they will have pride, determination and desire, but we will have to be prepared.
“It’s a beautiful game to play in and at the same time it gives you that mixture of fear and adrenaline. We know it’s going to be an even more difficult game than the first leg, but we want to do something truly extraordinary, unthinkable.”
When asked how he was feeling heading into the second leg, Acerbi replied: “Anxious. But it can also be positive. You have thousands of things on your mind, whether it will go well or not, but you have to be positive, you have to have faith in yourself and in the group.
“We know we’re facing a strong team, but we know we are strong too. If we go about it thinking we’re already 1% away from going through, there will be mistakes, but I don’t think this team is like that. We’ll do everything and it will be even more difficult than in the first leg.”
One journalist asked how the team would deal with the risk of feeling “too comfortable” with a two-goal lead, however, before he could finish his question, Acerbi interrupted and insisted that the job is far from over.
“But we’re not sure about the 2-0,” he said. “We didn’t celebrate after the first leg, there’s still the second leg to go. We haven’t done anything yet, we have to focus on ourselves.
“Tomorrow depends on us, we know Milan but fate is in our hands and for now, if you were to ask me if it’s been a good season, I would say no. We’ll make our conclusions at the end of it.”