Alessandro Bastoni: We need to prove ourselves on the pitch, and the primary task is to play well.

Inter Milan are about to return to the Champions League stage, hosting Shakhtar Donetsk at the San Siro Stadium. The day before the match, Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni spoke to the media at the club's training ground, sharing the team's current preparations and discussing the challenges they face.  

In a media interview, Alessandro Bastoni said : " We must get the desired result in tomorrow's game, otherwise it will be very difficult to get into the top eight in the standings. The achievements we made in the Champions League final and throughout the competition in the past few years are now history. I'm not saying that the team has lost its past strength, but considering the current schedule and recent performance, we must face the reality before us."  

“As my teammates and head coach have said before, participating in the Champions League is a dream in itself. We have never defined it as a specific goal that the team must achieve, so I hope that the outside world can view our expectations more rationally. Now, we need to respond strongly with concrete actions, and the first step is to play well in tomorrow's game.”  

"In my opinion, the problem doesn't lie in tactics, formations, the head coach, or other off-field factors. The real key lies with the players themselves and their mentality during the game. This involves a variety of reasons, such as lack of concentration, insufficient desire to win, or being affected by other factors, which prevent them from performing at their best in a particular game."  

"We should all honestly examine ourselves and take responsibility for our individual performance. By carefully reviewing each mistake, we will find that many problems are actually related to individual performance. As long as we can address these shortcomings, the team can make significant progress."  

"There is no fundamental difference between the league and the Champions League. Regardless of the opponent, we will stick to the same attitude and tactics. If we can reduce unnecessary mistakes, the team's performance in the Champions League will improve. Opponents in this competition often have stronger attacking capabilities, so once we fall behind, it is difficult to force them to retreat for a long time."  

“Since our match against Bologna, we have had some time to adjust our form and recover our fitness. Tomorrow, we will face a strong team with many Brazilian players. However, regardless of our opponent's strength, we will maintain our consistent attitude towards the game.”  

Image source: Internet / Inter Milan official website