FOOTBALL – INTER Milan coach Cristian Chivu banged drums for a comeback against Bodo/Glimt in his side’s upcoming Champions League playoff second leg clash.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the fixture, Chivu showed confidence in his team to turn around a two-goal deficit into a win when they host Bodo/Glimt tonight at the San Siro.
He said: “We have to go out there and win. We can’t be under the pressure of scoring two or three goals; we need to understand the moments. We’re a team capable of overturning a negative result, but we need to maintain our balance because Bodo are dangerous in transition.”
The Nerazzurri fell to a 3-1 first-leg defeat in the Arctic Circle earlier this month, and they managed to respond with a 2-0 victory over Lecce since that night. Inter will hope to have the home audience on their back as they take on the Norwegian outfit in an assertive fashion.
Chivu reiterated that his players are motivated both physically and mentally, and they will leave no stone unturned from the first minute of the match to snatch the victory on aggregate. The Romanian manager said that his team is fit to even play a possible 120-minute match, and are ready to undergo the tension of a penalty shootout.
He remarked: “I’m interested in our approach, our confidence, and being the best version of ourselves. We can turn it around. It could be 120 minutes plus penalties, we have to be ready in every respect.”
Bayer Leverkusen host Olympiacos in the second leg with Kasper Hjulmand’s side holding a 2-0 advantage over their Greek counterparts.
Speaking in yesterday’s Press conference ahead of tonight’s clash, the Dane warned his players of complacency.
“It’s a good position to be in and a good result,” he said. “But also a dangerous one, if you take it too lightly.
“We’re taking the game very seriously, it’s not over yet. We’ll need to be at our best against a great opponent but even the win in the first leg doesn’t change the fact we’re approaching the game as we normally do: We want to be proactive and win.”
Die Werkself confirmed that Loïc Badé would be sidelined with a muscular injury for the foreseeable future, while US international Malik Tillman is also a doubt after picking up an ankle injury against Union Berlin on Saturday.
“We don’t think he’ll be able to play,” said Hjulmand. “But we’ll decide tomorrow after training and the medical.”
Meanwhile, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says he is optimistic that Yoane Wissa and Sven Botman will be able to return against Qarabag tonight.
Wissa has missed the last two games with a knock, while Botman has been sidelined for three matches with a back problem.
But both have trained ahead of the second-leg clash.
“We hope they’ll be involved,” Howe said.
“We’ll see how they are when they wake up tomorrow, but fingers crossed they will be.”
The Magpies hold a significant 6-1 advantage going into the second leg at St James’ Park, but Howe says keeping momentum is important.
“We’ll look at the squad and try to pick a strong team,” he said.
“We want to win the game, that’s the first target. In some senses we want to keep a good rhythm with the players.
“It’s a delicate balance between rotating the squad and making sure everyone’s fresh and also making sure players don’t lose rhythm and we don’t lose the good feeling we’ve had.”
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