Antonio Cassano does not have faith in Inter’s chances against Benfica in their upcoming Champions League quarter-final clash, calling the Portuguese side the ‘positive surprise’ of the competition.
The Nerazzurri booked their spot in the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition after securing a 1-0 aggregate win over Porto in the Round of 16, a vital result for Simone Inzaghi and his squad.
Benfica topped a Champions League group containing Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and had little trouble in their Round of 16 tie with Club Brugge, winning 7-1 on aggregate.
Speaking on BoboTV, Cassano weighed in on Inter’s tie win over Porto and spoke highly about their upcoming opponents Benfica.
“Inter played badly in the first leg and badly in the second leg, they had great luck and went ahead. And they’re my team, but they went ahead with great luck and not because they deserved it.
“Benfica together with Napoli are the positive surprise of the Champions League. They play wonderful football, they scare everyone. They play much better than Inter and will go through.
“I hope my team will go through, but I’m analysing it. Benfica are solid, play better and are proactive: much better than Inter. If someone said that Inter are much stronger than Benfica, I’d ask: based on what?”
The former striker was not impressed with the work of Jose Mourinho’s work in the Europa League either.
“Roma also played a normal game at the Olimpico and in the return leg they played a disaster; they absolutely did not deserve to go through.”
The winner of the clash between Inter and Benfica will face the winner of Milan-Napoli in the semi-finals, making it a concrete possibility that an Italian team could reach the Champions League final for the first time in six years.