Copyright Yardbarker
Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer hailed his teammate Manuel Akanji ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Royale Union SG. During the pre-match conference via FCInterNews, he discussed Akanji’s impact, along with several other topics. Manuel Akanji joined Inter on a season-long loan from Manchester City on deadline day. Despite falling out of favor at the Etihad Stadium, the 30-year-old has thrived at San Siro. Indeed, the Swiss center-back has already established himself as an indispensable first-team star under Cristian Chivu. Therefore, there’s a good chance he will find himself in Chivu’s starting lineup at Lotto Park tomorrow. Meanwhile, Yann Sommer has returned to form after an underwhelming performance against Juventus last month. The 36-year-old stopper’s heroics between the sticks helped Inter beat Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. As such, the former Borussia Monchengladbach star will likely retain his place in goal tomorrow. Sommer has been Chivu’s preferred option in the Champions League this season. Indeed, he started in Inter’s opening two matches against Slavia Prague and Ajax, keeping a clean sheet on each occasion. Yann Sommer Praises Manuel Akanji Ahead of Royale Union SG vs Inter Milan “Against Juve, I also made two mistakes,” Sommer admitted. “Sometimes it happens. “Now we’ve found a good balance, which is very important for us. “Akanji has brought calm, quality; we are happy to have a player like him, but the whole team works very well. “We saw against Roma that we defended together, with energy; that’s the key point that allowed us to earn the three points.” Despite Inter’s high defensive line under Chivu, Sommer does not feel any additional pressure. “For me, it only changes the position,” he added. “I also move up if the line moves up. “I like how we’ve defended in the last matches because we are aggressive; if we lose the ball, we are there. It’s very important. “When we are high, we have fewer meters to cover to press the ball, and I like this. It’s always the result of the great work of the team.” However, he refuses to let compalcency creep in. “I don’t like to be relaxed or confident,” Sommer continued. “W must do our best to win matches. “We are motivated to have a great season; we want to win matches. And we saw also against Roma that it’s never easy. “We work a lot, and it’s evident.” Sommer Previews Royale Union SG vs Inter Milan Clash & Praises Team Performance vs Roma Inter will face Royale Union SG for the first time tomorrow. Though the sides have never met before, the San Siro heavyweights head into proceedings as favorites. “We have prepared ourselves,” Sommer claimed. “Before this match, I didn’t know much, but I’ve seen that it’s a good team. “We know they have great character, a new, young, tactically intelligent coach. A tough opponent for us; tomorrow will be an interesting match.” Furthermore, Sommer insists that Inter have turned last season’s disappointment into motivation for a better campaign this term. “Clearly, last year was hard for everyone, but this is football,”he continued. “A great team, after a setback, gets back up and works. “That’s what we’ve done; we have a new coach, we work a lot to do better this year. Step by step, that’s important. “We remained convinced we can win the title.” Finally, he hailed Inter’s performance in a nerve-wracking win in Rome at the weekend. “It was always good even before,” he added. “We had a bit of a difficult start to the season. “However, we always said to stay calm, work every day on the field, and now we are in a better situation. “We played a great match in Rome, important also for the environment, and now we return to the Champions League; tomorrow will be very important.”
