Simone Inzaghi was prepared for the difficult task facing Inter as they gear up for a tough Champions League clash against Barcelona.

The Nerazzurri have not looked too convincing domestically this season, suffering four losses in their opening eight Serie A matches, but the team are hoping to shine in a different light in Europe, although the loss to Bayern Munich puts the pressure on. A win against Barcelona is a must if Inter want to remain confident of progression to the Round of 16.

Speaking in a press conference today, Inzaghi first discussed how Inter can move on from this difficult start.

“We’ll analyse the game with Roma and then focus on Barcelona. It’s a tough moment because of the results. I think we played a good game [against Roma], we would have deserved a different result but we are aware that we must do more.”

He spoke about how the spark of enthusiasm can be rekindled after the team’s poor start to the season.

“With wins and results. We have a great opportunity tomorrow, we face a strong team, one of the best in Europe who undeservedly lost against Bayern Munich.

“They have high quality in every department, we should be very determined. The only way to end this moment is through victories, we could have started on Saturday, but the result was not on our side.”

The Inter coach provided an update on the state of his players after the recent international break.

“We’ll evaluate Lautaro, Correa is fine. We’ll have eleven games, one every three days. I hope to have the full squad available.

“We’ve had a few little problems, Brozovic and Lukaku won’t be there for some time but we have other players to rely on.”

He spoke about if the poor start in the league provides extra motivation in the Champions League.

“Barcelona are very strong, they’re one of the teams that play the best football in Europe. We know what importance the match has, the group is open. The round is prohibitive, but we are Inter and we will try to play with all our strengths.”

Inzaghi confirmed that Andre Onana would feature against Barcelona.

“I’ll evaluate things from match to match, tomorrow Onana will be there.”

He commented on what worries him most about Barcelona.

“They’re a complete team, strong, they can do everything. They are organised, they have the best ball recovery in Europe. They know how to be in possession and non-possession, they even put Lewandowski in.”

The Inter coach reflected on the loss to Bayern and the strengths of his squad.

“We know the difficulty of the match. We already paid with Bayern despite a good game. We were not there in the key moments, we should have defended better on Sané’s goal and we should have taken better advantage of the opportunities. 

“Tomorrow we have a strong opponent, we will have to limit them and strike at the right moment.”

Inzaghi discussed his job security after this poor start and if the decision to not sign Paulo Dybala was made by him.

“I have a club and a management where we go together in one direction. We’ve been working like this for a year and a half with daily meetings. 

“On Lukaku and Dybala a choice was made together. On my situation I’ve already said that we coaches depend on results, if they don’t come the coach is the first one questioned. I’m used to it.”

He touched on if Francesco Acerbi had overtaken Stefan de Vrij in his defensive hierarchies.

“He’s settled in very well, he’s a quality player, but I’m not leaving De Vrij behind, who had two very good years before my arrival. Tomorrow he has plenty of chances to start from the beginning.”

Finally, Inzaghi discussed if fear takes over when Inter make a mistake in a match.

“It’s the moment, I saw the Roma game again and tactically, in terms of running, at the impact I can’t say anything. The team has a lot of desire, we are in a big club and on Sunday they came in as 70,000 despite the period and they dragged us to the end. 

“Certainly the team suffers from the lack of points and certainties. It’s clear that on the second goal we couldn’t make that mistake. There were seven of us in the box, we left two holes that we should’ve never left. 

“We had worked 20 minutes on the set-pieces the day before. We have to do better. But the guys put everything on the pitch.”

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