Simone Inzaghi maintains Inter gained ‘even more faith in our capabilities’ after reaching the Champions League Final and aim to go even further this time. ‘We want to continue dreaming.’
The Nerazzurri were only narrowly beaten by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Final last time around, their first challenge for the trophy since the 2010 Treble.
It was not the harshest draw, placing them in Group D with Benfica, RB Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
“Last season we had an incredible journey that took us to the Final in Istanbul, where we were one step away from the dream,” Inzaghi told Inter TV.
“We took on great teams, fought in difficult arenas, but all this gave us even more faith in our capabilities. The Champions League is an important stage where we want to be protagonists again.”
Benfica are the reigning champions of Portugal and were placed in Pot 1, while Inter were in Pot of the draw.
Austrians RB Salzburg have become regulars in the Champions League group phase and Real Sociedad took fourth place in LaLiga last season thanks largely to a rock solid defence.
“All the matches will be difficult, as always in this competition, where nobody gives you anything for free and all the opponents are well-organised.
“We will give it our all, because we want to give a sense of continuity to our journey. We are Inter and we want to continue dreaming.”
Inter have a very strong record against Benfica, emerging with three wins and two draws in their continental clashes.
That includes the 1965 European Cup Final and their victory in last season’s Champions League quarter-final.