Nicolò Barella admits Inter had their 'backs against the wall' with Shakhtar Donetsk when down to 10 men , but 'what mattered was the result. I don't know how deserved it was.'
It was far from a convincing display from the Nerazzurri, even before going down to 10 men over the two quick Alessandro Bastoni yellow cards.
There were grumbles from the San Siro crowd who had already suffered through defeats to Real Madrid and Club Brugge in the Champions League this season, but then Carlos Augusto ran onto the long ball from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and kept his cool to beat the on-rushing goalkeeper.
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 21: Carlos Augusto of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Stadio San Siro on October 21, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
In the absence of injured Lautaro Martinez, the captain's armband went to midfielder Barella.
"All Champions League games are difficult, Shakhtar Donetsk confirmed they have quality, tempo and intensity," Barella told Sky Sport Italia.
"Let's be honest here, we needed this victory. Playing good football is nice too, but what mattered the most today was the result. I don't know how deserved it was, but we'll take it."
Shakhtar Donetsk had been unbeaten so far this season in the Champions League, earning a 1-1 draw at PSV Eindhoven and beating AEK Athens 3-1, so confirmed their quality at San Siro this evening.
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 21: FC Internazionale Milano pose for a team photograph before the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Stadio San Siro on October 21, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
"When your back is against the wall, you've got to do something. Being down to 10 is a big disadvantage in modern football, but Shakhtar quite rightly pushed forward trying to win the game, and we were able to make the most of a counter-attack," continued Barella.
"Carlos is an animal, I want to congratulate him, as on top of being a great player, he's a lovely guy who deserves everything."
The first half was incredibly sluggish, so what was behind that attitude from the team?
"We were lacking some energy at the start, perhaps all that talk of needing the victory made us tense. We already said that our initial approach is something we've got to improve, as we have seen several situations where we even went 2-0 down," replied the Inter midfielder.
"I too could've raised my voice more with my teammates, but this is a 'problem' at the moment and we're working on it."
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 21: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale Milano interacts with Valeriy Bondar of FC Shakhtar Donetsk during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Stadio San Siro on October 21, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Bastoni had warned in yesterday's press conference that Inter needed to forget reaching the Champions League Final in 2023 and 2025, so what does Barella feel about their ambitions in this competition?
"The Champions League is something we have targeted in recent years. The level is very high, it is certainly a dream, but you can transform those into targets. We realise it's not our best form in this competition, but we'll try to do our best with the potential that we have."
