Inter defender Carlos Augusto believes that Rafael Leao was right to speak about Sunday’s upcoming derby in the way that he did.
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Milan will enter Sunday’s derby 10 points behind Inter in the table, but with a tremendous hunger to win and close the gap. Leao sent a message to the blue side of the city after the win over Cremonese, a game that he scored the second goal in.
“We had to win this match and we won. Against Inter it will be a different game, I wouldn’t say decisive, but the derby is always a challenge everyone feels. I ask my teammates to give their all and take it personally because it’s a do-or-die match,” he said.
“We’re going into it with all the respect for Inter, who are a great team, but also with the desire to get a positive result. We’ll have to prepare very well for the match, and the coach will do just that. I think the derby is a great game to play, and this week there will be a special, different atmosphere in the city.”
Inter’s response
Inter defender Carlos Augusto spoke to SportMediaset after the 0-0 draw against Como away from home in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. MilanNews relayed his words.
Leao spoke of life and death: how will Inter approach the derby?
“He’s right, it’s an important match for both teams. Focus on our team, then we’ll see what happens.”
Cristian Chivu – the Inter coach – spoke to Inter TV after the game and also offered a bit of a brief preview on the game that will take place on Sunday night.
In the return game, you’ll have to even the score [after losing the first derby’. How will you approach it?
“There’s nothing to overturn, we start from 0-0… Whoever wins will advance to the final.”
The derby is on Sunday. How do you approach it?
“I don’t know, we’ll see in the next few days… Certainly with the energy we have, it will be the 18th game in 60 days, let’s hope it’s the right one. We know how important the game is, we’ll be ready.”