Inter Milan Captain Urges His Nerazzurri Teammates To Believe In Themselves Against “Great Opponents” Barcelona | OneFootball

Lautaro Martinez is keen for Inter Milan to believe themselves in the upcoming Champions League semi-final tie against Barcelona.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia via FCInterNews, the 27-year-old explained the team’s mental state ahead of tonight’s clash in Spain.

These are tough days for Simone Inzaghi and his side.

Indeed, they’ve gone from competing on three fronts to the ignominy of a trophyless season in only seven days.

First, AC Milan crushed Inzaghi’s dream of winning a third Coppa Italia title with the Nerazzurri.

Then, Roma derailed Inter’s chances of becoming the first Serie A title holders to defend their crown in five years.

As if that wasn’t troubling enough, Napoli have hit the ground running, establishing a three-point cushion at the table’s summit.

Therefore, Inter’s confidence is low, yet Lautaro Martinez hopes his teammates can weaponize their anger against Barca.

Lautaro Martinez Tells Inter Milan Clubmates to Believe in Themselves vs Barcelona

MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 16: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale celebrates after scoring their team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Bayern München at San Siro on April 16, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Asked how they feel ahead of tonight’s kick-off, El Toro replied: “Very angry.

“Very angry because we’ve had a great journey up to this point, but in these last three matches we’ve fallen short – physically, in our play.

“The team is aware of it. We talked among ourselves, we said a lot of things that helped us get ready to put in a great performance tomorrow.

“We’ve prepared well against a great opponent like Barcelona.”

Lautaro also admitted the Italian giants are aware of Barcelona’s huge pre-match favoritism.

“Yes, we know that,” he added. “It’s been a tough week for us.

“But we’ve already shown in many stadiums what we can do and that against top teams we’ve imposed our game and our personality.

“We’ve reached this point because we’ve consistently put those qualities on the pitch.

“I have no doubt about that, just as I have no doubt about my teammates.

“Now we have to recover, finalize the last details of the match, and tomorrow face a team that has players of immense quality.

“However, we have our own quality and we need to believe in it, applying all the work we’ve done.”

Finally, Lautaro revealed how significant Marcus Thuram is to this Inter team.

“Marcus is a very important player for us. We struggled in these last matches without him.

“The coach hasn’t told us the lineup yet. Tomorrow we’ll see if he plays or not, but having him available is important.

“As for my teammates, everything I needed to say I already said this week.

“I told them it was important to speak among ourselves, to fix a few missing details, and tomorrow we’ll see what comes out.”