UCL, Bastoni: "A great opportunity, we will need to fight"

Champions League football approaches for Inter as they prepare to take on Benfica for the first leg of the quarter-final tie. In the press conference alongside the coach, Alessandro Bastoni answered journalists' questions.

You are four games away from a Champions League final, is this something you've thought about?

We know that this is a great chance for us, it has been 12 years since Inter reached this stage. There is tension and excitement of course because it's a crucial match for us, but I like to remember that it's a football match and we have to face it with all the joy and love we feel for this sport.

Does the Champions League have a different feel to the league? Is it easy to separate the two?

They are different competitions, we give 100 per cent in both. In the league we have had good performances without getting the result, we have missed chances, but we have never had the wrong attitude or approach. Tomorrow, we will need to be aggressive and ready because it will be a fantastic occasion.

How are you approaching the game from a defensive point of view against one of the most dangerous attacks in Europe?

The whole team has to contribute to our defence: the attackers start the defensive phase, just as we start the offensive one. Benfica have a great attacking threat but we don't fear them, just like we didn't fear Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Porto: we will have to stay compact to cause them problems.

Can this match turn around the current run of form?

It can give us a big boost in the final stretch of the league season. From a mental point of view it can give us a lot, also because in the league we are not getting the rewards we deserve, so yes it can give us a boost both physically and mentally.

How do you feel about a potential contract renewal in the offing?

I'm not worried about it, I focus on the matches as they come, because I have to concentrate on football. In terms of the contract, my agent is taking care of it and there is no problem from this point of view. Tomorrow we will go out onto the pitch and we will be 100% focussed.

What do you make of our current form?

We have created a lot but wasted several chances, if we had scored some of them we would be talking about a different Inter. After every match, we always analyse the 90 minutes and in terms of attitude we haven't done anything wrong, so we are confident and and we remain confident for this quarter-final.