Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni believes this Nerazzurri side has ‘matured’ since last seasons Champions League final. Inter are the first Italian side to book their place in the last 16 of the competition, courtesy of a 1-0 win over RB Salzbrg, with Lautaro Martinez scoring from the penalty spot. Speaking post-match, Bastoni pointed to the growth of the team, saying qualifying early gives the squad ‘peace of mind:
“We are happy because Salzburg is a strong team that we have already faced and we knew their potential. We did well, there was a further step of growth on our part, we resisted in the first half, and then we took things further. We went from just holding them off to killing off the match.”
“It made us understand that if we stick together and stay compact we can compete with anyone.”
“The final we lost in Istanbul taught us a lot, if we are united, compact we can do a lot, we want to go ahead and well. We who are more ‘mature’ have taught the new ones what to do.
“After the break we’ll have Juve, Benfica and Napoli, so qualifying for the knockout rounds gives us peace of mind, but we’re aiming for first place.”
