Mkhitaryan and Akanji, the match winners: "You always have to be ready"

“I’m absolutely delighted, for myself and for the team. It was a hugely important win. It wasn’t easy against Lecce; they’re a well-organised side that leave very little space. We knew they would drop off physically in the second half, and we did well to keep pushing. We wanted the victory and everyone had to give their all. In the build up to the goal, I decided at the last second to attack the box and managed to score, even though it was actually Bastoni who was supposed to go in. We have to stay united at all times: we’re a team and a family. Now our focus shifts to the next match. We’ll prepare in the best possible way and give everything, together with our fans.”

“You always have to be ready when you come on – Mkhitaryan and I said that to each other, and we both ended up scoring. You need that mindset even when you’re not in the starting XI. Winning regularly away from home is a positive, especially when you keep a clean sheet. We had to maintain our momentum, and the fact that we didn't concede makes me particularly happy. On Tuesday, we’ll have to do far better than we did in Norway if we want to turn it around. We conceded three goals and struggled with the tempo, but the stakes are high. Sometimes we produce our best in big matches, other times we don’t. But there aren’t two different versions of Inter; yes, we lost to Bodø/Glimt last time out in the Champions League, but we’re still the same team capable of great things. Dimarco is in the top three left-footed players I’ve ever played with. We actually worked on the move that led to the goal in training yesterday, and today it paid off. He’s a world-class player.”