Inter, Chivu doesn’t hide regret. And reassures on Barella

Cristian Chivu spoke at a press conference on the eve of Borussia Dortmund-Inter, the final day of the Champions League single group stage. “This team has the’ambition to be competitive – he began -. Everyone has been working to raise the level since I arrived, to add something. They are all doing well, it is true there may have been some ups and downs, but we have always found great reactions. We have added ideas and everyone is embracing them. It is part of the process”.

“We are 14th in the Champions League, when the goal we set ourselves was to finish in the top 8– the Nerazzurri coach then confessed.

The match with Dortmund is important, we face a healthy team that loses little at home, they are often dragged by their public. We have to be ready physically and mentally, we will talk about the championship later. The roster is important, everyone feels involved and they&#8217ve shown it very well”.

On Yann Sommer and Luis Henrique, at the center of criticism after Friday night’s match against Pisa: “They are fine, they are professionals, they have the esteem of their teammates. My choice about replacing Luis was not due to the performance, and in fact we talked about it these days. What matters is that the group understood, was close to Luis, there are no problems. Sommer has a long career behind him, he has been through all kinds of moments, he has everyone”s respect, that” counts.

On the European run: “We lost games where we deserved more, but maybe what we have we deserve. We took a goal at the end in Madrid, against Liverpool a penalty came in the final. Against Arsenal we also did well, playing with determination and courage against strong opposition: the 3-1 came at the end of the game when we had three points and were looking for an equalizer. This team in the last two months has grown mentally and in attitude, mistakes then can come. Perfect seasons and performances don”t exist, we must always improve”.

Against the Gialloneri, Nicolò Barella will be missing: “He had a muscle soreness and so we did not summon him, he will have tests but we hope it is just a fatigue”. Lautaro Martinez, however, is still expected to start from the 1′: “He never wants to rest, we never want to do without our players, everyone is always ready to contribute”.