Inter will face Barcelona in the prelude to the Champions League final at its worst time of the season. The Italoans visit Montjuïc to dispute the first leg in low hours. They lost humiliatingly to one of the worst Milan of the decade in the semifinals of the Italian Cup and added two losses by the minimum against Bologna and Rome that relegated to the second place in series A, in the absence of 4 days for the end of the championship, in which it is 3 points in the Naples. He went from dreaming about the triplet to stay with nothing in just a few days.
Even so, the team maintains an overwhelming mentality. With the intention of maintaining a defensive strength that has made them shine in the UEFA Champions League 2024/25, managing to keep their goal to zero in 8 of the 12 games played so far. This performance positions it as one of the teams with the best defense in the competition, having fit only 5 goals in total. Ahead will have Barcelona, the most offensive team of the entire Champions.
Its leader is the Argentine striker of Inter Milan Lautaro Martínez, who in Montjuïc praised Lamine Yamal. Although he has eluded him at the height of Lionel Messi by ensuring that “the best player of all time” cannot be compared to another footballer.
“Leo for me has no comparison, because it is and will be the best of all time. I will not make that comparison. Lamine is an important player. At his young age he is doing a great work, he has won titles with the National Team and has a great future and is a great player,” he said in the press conference prior to the first leg.
Beyond praising the end of Mataró, Bahía Blanca’s striker has highlighted “the offensive power” of Barça de Hansi Flick, so he has stressed that they must do a “great defensive work” to counteract the most scorer of this edition of the maximum European competition.
And, in this sense, he recalled: “We are a team that has defended very well important rivals and important players. We have to try not to generate goal situations.”
The Italian complex faces the tie in a moment of doubts after chaining three consecutive losses – two in the League – after those who have given the lead in favor of Naples, and another in the Italian Cup against Milan. Despite this, Lautaro has been “optimistic” with a view to completing a good role in front of Barça, since the group, as he has confessed, is strong.
“In three years, we have reached two semifinals of the Champions League, something that did not happen in many years. We thought about doing our job and fulfilling the dream of our fans: that Inter returns to play a final of the Champions League,” he added.
However, the captain of the Transalpino team is convinced that they will be able to “turn” this situation and have urged his teammates to face “personality” the duel against the Barca team. “The heart and effort have to be present. We have worked hard and have recharged energy,” he added. After a course in which he has erected in one of the leaders of his team, the name of Lautaro Martínez appears in the pools to conquer the next Golden Ball.
Asked about it, the Argentine footballer recalled that “the individual awards arrive thanks to the group’s work” and has pointed out that he always thinks “of winning the games to make families happy” of Inter.
#Lautaro #Lamine #Yamal #Messi #comparison
