After being drawn in a tough group for Champions League, Inter boss Antonio Conte remains confident about the Madrid fixture.
Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte feels no pressure as his side will clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League. Surprisingly so, he mentioned that the Spanish side is not among the favorites to win the title.
Evidently, Conte’s men claimed the third spot right behind Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund last year in the group stage. Also, Inter reached the final of the Europa League this year only to face a loss by Sevilla.
However, the Nerazzurri finished second in Serie A behind Juventus to claim the Champions League spot this year. Inter will therefore play against Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening game for the tournament.
Furthermore, Inter is in the same group as Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. After receiving comments regarding the favorite team in Group B, Conte expressed his joy.
“I don’t know if that’s the case. We are talking about the team that won La Liga last season and that have great champions,” he said.
“It makes me smile to hear that they are not the favorites. If we question Real Madrid because they didn’t make moves in the transfer market and we don’t consider them favorites, it means that football is changing and maybe I have lost sight of reality.”
Confidence is the key.
Inter only managed to win two games out of the 10 European fixtures. Although, Conte is confident that his side will perform based on the experience from the 2019-20 season.
“Now we are more experienced for sure, after what we did last term and the Europa League final. This increased the experience level of the whole squad,” said Conte.
“Now we can also count on [Arturo] Vidal who has plenty of experience. From this point of view, we are a more prepared team.
“We must be the masters of our own destiny. We want to be positive, but at this moment it is difficult to say where we can go.
“Our aim is to be contenders. We aim to play the kind of football that made us runners-up in the league and Europa League finalists last season. Sometimes we do that perfectly, sometimes we have to improve.”
In addition, Alessandro Bastoni will be on the bench after recovering from COVID19. Though, striker Alexis Sanchez is ready to compete against Gladbach after Saturday’s derby loss to Milan.
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