Inter Milan will host their first European final in 10 years if they manage to beat Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday night.
Inter manager Antonio Conte, who won the UEFA Cup as a player with Juventus in 1993, will see his own destination as club manager at the end of his Europa League crusade, and admitted that Shakhtar, who won the festival in 2008, is the most powerful team his team has faced so far at the festival.
He said: “We have a lot of respect for the Shakhtar. We are looking at a team that has consolidated over the years and we are ready.”
“[Shakhtar] are the most powerful warring parties we have faced so far in our Europa League career, but we must show that there is an explanation for why we are in the semi-finals, and our purpose is to succeed in the final.”
Despite this, Inter will undoubtedly include those who are fit as favourites, having finished only one point with Juventus in the race for the Name of Serie A, and will have a constellation of stars in their team, but Shakhtar does not stay out of the European festival. while competing for a spot in Friday’s final.
Shakhtar was the winner of the Ukrainian Premier League, already resuming his place in the Champions League stages, and scored seven goals in his two Europa League matches in the existing tournament.
They will take the attack on Inter and have a jewel in Junior Moraes, who scored six goals in Europe this season and was the most sensible scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League with 20 goals. He also had eight assists in the league, two from the league leader and teammate Taison (10).
Speaking about the challenge Shakhtar will offer Inter, Young added: “If you’re pressured, you have a tendency not to have to play in groups that simply back up and protect themselves. And whoever plays well that day wins, I think it’s going to be a very smart game.
“We’ve noticed videos of them; we saw them opposed to Basel the other day, and they’re a team. They wouldn’t be in the semi-finals if they weren’t. So everyone appreciates the opportunity to play against Basel. them, to recheck us. We’ll see what happens at the end of the 90 minutes.”
Shakhtar Donetsk coach Luis Castro said his appearance faced a task that opposed to Inter but that they were ‘serene’ before the match.
“We are very relaxed,” he said. “It’s a game for us. We have to play this game with the same serious mindset that we have to play with in the final. We know that we are betting against a very complicated team with a lot of quality.
“It is very difficult to perceive its football dynamics both in attack and in defense. We are prepared in the most productive way imaginable to defeat them. We know it’s going to be a very difficult match for us, but it’s going to be a challenging match.” for Inter too.
“Our pre-game serenity is part of the way we prepare for games and is part of our identity as a team.”
Alexis Sanchez, who recently made a permanent stint at Inter after a Manchester United loan, is expected to miss the last game to a hamstring injury. Matias Neighbor is also absent while recovering from knee surgery.
As for the Shakhtar, Maksym Malyshev, Vladyslav Vakula and Ismaily may be missing.