Alessandro Bastoni describes his assist for Nicolò Barella and explains why he was always ‘convinced’ Inter could get the better of Benfica in the Champions League.
It was a huge surprise to win 2-0 in Lisbon, considering Benfica were unbeaten in the tournament so far and the Nerazzurri came in off one win in eight competitive matches.
“I said yesterday in the press conference that we didn’t get what we deserved in the last three games. We did well to stay sharp and, unlike those outside the squad, we believed we could achieve this performance,” Bastoni told Sky Sport Italia.
The centre-back surged forward to whip in a cross from the left for Barella’s header, the first headed goal in his Inter career, before Romelu Lukaku converted a penalty for Joao Mario’s handling offence.
“That is a move we did for the first time in Inter-Juve in Serie A, I always see Barella make those runs and if I don’t give him the ball, he gets annoyed!”
Although Inter had struggled to score in recent weeks, the defence was largely solid.
“I was always convinced the team was ready, because we never got the attitude wrong, we always created lots of chances, we just needed to kill off those games.
“Now this result will help boost our confidence going forward.”