Inter Milan defender hails Barcelona youngster as the ‘toughest player I have ever faced’ | OneFootball

Barcelona are set to take on Inter Milan tomorrow night in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal and have 90 minutes to earn themselves a berth in the finale of the competition.

The first leg in Catalonia ended 3-3 after a topsy-turvy game where Barcelona scored thrice, always behind Inter Milan, after the Italian side finished chance after chance despite the extremely low pro aim of their opportunities.

If Barcelona are to win tomorrow night, it will require their best performance of the season yet for the Italians have been in sublime form in Europe.

Bastoni’s thoughts

Speaking to the media ahead of the vital second-leg clash between Barcelona and Inter Milan, the Italian side’s defender Alessandro Bastoni spoke on what he expected from the game and gave his thoughts on the current Barcelona team.

He began by revealing the team’s game plan heading into the second leg of the semifinal and what the Italian outfit hoped for against Barcelona at San Siro.

“Of course, we will give 200%. It’s a Champions League semi-final, and from the outside, it may look normal, but in reality, it’s not something that happens every year.”

“We have great enthusiasm and confidence. We are theoretically only two matches away from winning the Champions League, and we will give everything we have,” he added.

Speaking on what he expected from Barcelona in Italy, Bastoni did not hold back in admitting that the Catalans were very different in person than they appeared in their videos.

“We’ve watched a lot of videos of Barcelona, ​​but playing against them is completely different.”

Bastoni will face Lamine again. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The defender then went on to elaborate on what Inter must improve from the first leg in Montjuic, to which he said,

“We made several passing errors that could have led to scoring opportunities. We can improve a lot and will learn from the lessons of the first leg.”

The 26-year-old was then asked to provide a message to the fans who would be in the stands cheering the Italian outfit on the night, to which he said,

“There will be moments of great suffering because Barcelona’s style of play dictates that. In those moments, we’ll need a boost from all the Inter fans. The crowd must be on fire, and we’ll keep our cool.”

Bastoni then went on to give his two cents on the referee on the night who is even rumoured to be a Madridista.

“He’s refereed many matches for us before. You can talk to him, even though he’s tough.”

“I don’t think there are any major problems with the refereeing, and I don’t think the league was rigged,” he added

Finally, the defender hailed Lamine Yamal as the next player he has ever faced, saying,

“Lamine is the toughest player I have ever faced. I’m amazed at the level he’s reached, and with his ability to create chances, he’s the best.”

“We have to do what we did in the first leg, double his marking. I even doubled it. But Barcelona isn’t just about Yamal, they have an enviable attacking line,” he added.

Source: Mundo Deportivo