Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic has delivered his verdict on his team’s chances of progressing to the Champions League knock-out stage.
Perisic played 79 minutes as Inter Milan failed to overcome Borussia Monchengladbach at the Giuseppe Meazza in their Champions League opener.
Drawn with the likes of Gladbach, Real Madrid, and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group B, the Serie A heavyweights will face an uphill task of reaching the round of 16.
The Nerazzurri grabbed a 2-2 draw against German visitors thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s late equalizer.
Antonio Conte’s men will face high-flying Ukrainians on foreign soil on matchday 2. Given the way the under-strength Shakhtar team outplayed Real Madrid in Spain, Inter will have to be at the top of their game to hope for a positive outcome.
But, Ivan Perisic, who won the trophy with Bayern Munich last season, is confident his side will qualify for the knock-out stage.
“We had many opportunities [against Gladbach],” he told SportMediaset, as relayed by the Football-Italia. “But we could only get one point.
“The road is long, and I’m convinced we will be able to make it to the last 16.”
Inter have failed to break into the Champions League knock-out phase since 2011/12.
In fact, they have ended their journey in Europe’s elite club competition in the group stage already in all of their previous three participations.
Last season though, Conte’s side went all the way to the Europa League final, where they lost 3-2 to Sevilla.
The way Inter played en route to the final could serve as a platform to build on this time around.
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