Inter star Denzel Dumfries says his club is already focused on the Champions League final after claiming a 1-0 win over rivals AC Milan on Tuesday, ensuing that they proceed to the final with a 3-0 aggregate win.
Inter will now await their fate as they will take on the winner between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the other semifinal on Wednesday, with the highly-anticipated final set for June 10 in Instanbul.
Not many would have predicted Inter would come this far but Dumfries claims that Inter’s strong squad is the main reason behind the team’s success in the competition so far in the 2022-23 season.
Inter are going to Istanbul to win, says Dumfries
“I think that we have a very experienced squad, a very difficult squad to beat,” he told BT Sport after the final whistle on Tuesday night. “We play very compact and this season you’ve seen in big games that we are there, we are ready to fight, we are ready to suffer.
“Until now, we’ve had a great campaign and now we are going to Istanbul to win it and we’re really focused on achieving that goal.”
Dumfries was also asked about his thoughts on Rafael Leao after he was handed the task of keeping the Portuguese at bay, following the forward’s return from injury.
He said that the challenge “was normal.” He then continued: “For me he’s a great player, I’ve played often against him because we played a lot of derbies also last year. Great player, respect him, but what I’ve said before, we have a very strong squad, a very experienced squad and we are a strong team.
“We will see tomorrow who will be there in the final, we have no involvement in this, we are focused on ourselves and tomorrow we will see who’s in the final.”
The Inter star believes there is still a lot to be done though but believes his side have the motivation and quality to go all the way.
When asked if Inter could win the Champions League, Dumfries replied: “Of course it’s a big goal for us, but now we are in the final, we have to win the final. This is our main goal.”
Elsewhere, former Milan star, Hakan Calhanoglu, who now plays for Inter, was also pleased after the result.
“Congratulations to Milan, they too did a good job. It was a difficult game, we did a good job. I’m very happy,” he told Mediaset after the final whistle at San Siro.
“Derbies are always tough, unfortunately even more so for me, but the past is the past. I get along with all my former team-mates, there is respect for Maldini and Massara. Ricky is my neighbour and we always see each other. The important thing is that there is respect.”
