Turkey According to Federico Dimarco, Inter have a solid foundation to look forward to the future after playing toe-to-toe with heavily invested Man City to win the Champions League.
"What's left is just a lot of disappointment, because we played on par with Man City, but lost the most important match," Dimarco told Sport Mediaset after the final in Turkey.
Dimarco applauds Inter fans after the Champions League final defeat to Man City 0-1 at Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul on June 10. Photo: inter.it
The Italian defender stressed that Man City had invested a lot of money to win the Champions League, so he was proud that Inter could compete equally, even better at some points in the final. Dimarco said that Inter gave 120% of their strength, but were unlucky because "the ball did not want to go into the net".
Before the match, Man City was rated much higher than Inter. Opta statistics said the chance of the Premier League representative winning was up to 74%, nearly three times higher than Inter. Welsh legend Gareth Bale even predicted Man City would win 5-0.
But when the match started, Inter played on par and even finished, creating more chances than Man City. The Italian representative had 44% possession, 14 shots with six on target - compared to 7 and 4 of the opponent. Inter's best chance belonged to Dimarco himself, when he headed the European player against the crossbar in the 71st minute. Then, the Italian defender continued to head the ball close to the goal, but the ball was blocked by teammate Romelu Lukaku. In the 88th minute, it was the Belgian striker's turn to waste a chance to head the ball close to the goal.
Dimarco (number 32) missed twice in a row in the 71st minute, with a header hitting the crossbar and a follow-up shot hitting Lukaku. Photo: Reuters
Inter's squad could be in for a major shake-up next season, with Edin Dzeko and Milan Skriniar out of contract and Lukaku returning to Chelsea after his loan spell expires. However, Dimarco sees a bright future for Inter. "Considering what we've seen from Inter this season in the Champions League, I think this is a starting point, not an end," he said.
Similarly, chairman Steven Zhang was proud of Inter for showing their strength and playing at the highest level against a highly rated opponent. He also sent his congratulations to Man City for having a great season with a historic treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
Key developments of the match Man City 1-0 Inter.
Inter also had a successful season, winning the Italian Cup, the Italian Super Cup and reaching the Champions League final for the first time since 2010. According to Zhang, Inter have many positive things to reflect on this season and performing well in the Champions League final is a valuable experience. "No season is perfect, there is always room for improvement. But to be more successful than this season, we must work harder every day," the Chinese businessman added.
Hong Duy
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