Inter director Beppe Marotta is confident Romelu Lukaku will make his mark this season, even if he doesn’t start the Champions League against FC Porto. ‘These fixtures give you an adrenaline boost.’
The first leg of the Round of 16 kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 GMT.
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“I think the teams involved in this round have a certain European pedigree. If we look at the recent past, Porto eliminated several Italian sides and we hope the same doesn’t happen to us,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia and Amazon Prime Italia.
“The team is prepared, motivated and you can hear the atmosphere in the stadium with this crowd.”
Lukaku is on the bench this evening, with Edin Dzeko preferred as the partner to Lautaro Martinez, so are Inter running out of patience with the striker on loan from Chelsea?
“I have to say he has 103kg to carry around, so he needs to be in perfect physical shape to deliver and he is not there yet. He’s getting there and the coach is the best person to evaluate how he is doing and how he should be used.
“Games tend to last almost 100 minutes nowadays, so the players who come off the bench can be just as important as what I like to call their co-starters.
“Unfortunately, another problem with this anomalous season is the World Cup, which was midway through the first half of the campaign. I can see that participation in the World Cup affected many players, some feel it more than others, and Lukaku had an injury that meant he was reduced to practically a cameo at that tournament.
“He is a great professional, he has so far been unfortunately unable to deliver what he wanted to, but we have faith there is time for him to make an impact for the rest of the season.”
It is not just Lukaku’s future that is in doubt, as others too are considering their contract renewals after Milan Skriniar opted to walk away in the summer.
“Everyone deserves to renew their contracts, but this is not about the heart this time, we have to be rational. We will do it very calmly over the next few months.”
Inter have done perhaps better in knockout tournaments over the last couple of years than in Serie A, where they tend to drop points against minnows.
“I think it’s because they have the right approach, as these fixtures give you extra adrenaline boosts. That is our limitation and something we are working on, the need to be more consistent in our performances and approaches in Italy and in Europe.”
Simone Inzaghi and Andre Onana have both said that Inter can win the Champions League, just as Jose Mourinho did in 2010 to complete the Treble.
“That year will remain in the history of this club and it is not easy to repeat, but we are obliged to go as far as possible and will give our all to achieve that,” responded Marotta.