Inter Milan Defender Francesco Acerbi: “Porto A Complete Team, We Shouldn’t Panic Thinking We Have Kill Off Tie Tomorrow” | OneFootball

Inter defender Francesco Acerbi feels that his team will need to be patient across 180 minutes against Porto in the Champions League round of sixteen.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, the 35-year-old stressed that the team should not be in a hurry to kill off the match in the first leg tomorrow, and made clear that he’s happy at Inter but that he is not yet sure about his future.

The final whistle at the San Siro tomorrow will essentially only be halftime in the tie against Porto.

Obviously Inter will be hoping that they can take as much of an advantage with them as they can to Portugal in three weeks’ time, but they will know that they have another ninety minutes to navigate and get the job done.

There would be obvious risks associated with pushing too hard too early on, and for Acerbi’s part, the defender feels that the most important thing will be staying balanced and composed.

“We’ll need balance,” he said, “we don’t have to panic thinking we have to kill it off right away.”

He called Porto “A strong team who are used to these kinds of matches, they have the same chances of going through as us.”

“We’ll have to take care of the details with the right mentality,” the defender said.

Acerbi noted that “Conceicao has been there for many years, they know each other well, they’re a team who’ve given everyone a difficult time.”

“They’re excellent on the counterattack, great at competing for second balls, they’re a complete team and very tough to come up against.”

Asked about his future at Inter and whether he expects his loan from Lazio will be made permanent, Acerbi said that “It matters relatively, I’m happy here, but It’s not my decision because I’m not the President, nor am I the Sporting Director or the coach.”

“I know the way things are, so I’m only focusing on the pitch.”

“As far as the outcome of the talks between the clubs, they’ll tell me how things go, all I know is that I’m happy here,” the defender added.