UCL: Dumfries expects aggressive performance from Feyenoord

Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries says the Nerazurri need to play at their ‘best’ if they want to finish the job against Feyenoord and secure a place in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Simone Inzaghi’s men won the first leg of the last 16 tie  2-0  last week as the Dutch club came to the San Siro in search of redemption.

The Netherlands international predicted that the Eredivisie giants will be ‘very aggressive’ as they have ‘nothing to lose.’ This is his reason for urging the Nerazzurri to ‘stay focused.’

Dumfries, who will soon sign a new deal at the club, is widely regarded as one of Inter’s best-performing players this season. The wing-back admitted to having developed a strong ‘mental focus’ and said he is ‘proud’ of his growth.

Dumfries, at a pre-match press conference, said Inter plays well but must present a decent performance in the second half of the tie and win it.

The Dutch side had knocked out AC Milan in the last round before meeting their city rivals.

“We want to reach the quarterfinals, and we need to play well. For me, it’s been a great season. The most important thing is to stay focused—it’s not easy to keep up the pace all year, but I’ve worked hard on this, and I’m proud of my progress.

Inter will be going into the tie with many players on the treatment table, as it appears that this season’s busy fixture list has taken a toll on them.

Inter recently suffered another injury blow as Piotr Zielinski is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a calf injury during the 3-2 Serie A win over Monza on Sunday, three minutes after coming on as a substitute.

He has now joined Davide Fratessi, Carlos Agusto, Federico Dimarco, and Matteo Darmian on the treatment table.

With the squad depleted by multiple injuries and the team looking fatigued at times, Dumfries suggested this was not the case for him.

“As I said before, mental focus is very important for me. But physically, I’m fine.”