'The word fear is not in my vocabulary!' - Conte not threatened by Shakhtar

Antonio Conte readily accepts that facing Shakhtar will not be easy but wants his side not to get intimidated by their upcoming opponents.

An exciting tie awaits in the second Europa League semi-final match as Inter Milan prepare to go against Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday in Dusseldorf.

Inter have reached the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time since 2009-10. But they have not won a single piece of silverware since 2010-11, so they are under a huge pressure to go all the way through and land the trophy.

Reaching the finals, however, will not be easy as in their path stand the Ukrainian champions, who lifted their fourth successive league title last season.

A force to reckon with going forward, Shakhtar flattened FC Basel 4-1 in the quarter-finals.

“The word fear is not part of my vocabulary and it mustn’t be for the players either,” replied Antonio Conte when asked if he feared his upcoming opponents, according to Football Italia.

“We have great respect for Shakhtar, they are the strongest team we’ve faced yet in the Europa League. So we will face them with respect, but also showing we are in the semi-final for a reason and will fight tooth and nail to reach the Final.”