Chivu: ‘Inter need intensity, determination and grit’ against Feyenoord

Cristian Chivu warns Inter that Feyenoord ‘are a different team’ at home and his side ‘cannot afford to play without determination and grit’ in the Champions League.

It kicks off at the Stadion De Kuip in Rotterdam at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

The mood in the Nerazzurri camp is one of concern after a series of poor performances, culminating in the 3-1 Derby della Madonnina defeat to Milan on Saturday evening.

They were already under pressure in the Champions League after losing the first two matches to Real Madrid and Club Brugge, then scraped a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk when down to 10 men.

Alessandro Bastoni was sent off in that game and is therefore suspended this evening, with Lautaro Martinez, Curtis Jones, Luis Henrique and John Stones still injured.

Chivu fires Inter up in Rotterdam

“It is a tough environment, the fans give a lot and we know they are a different team at home with intensity, so we must be ready to face adversity and situations we cannot afford to handle without determination and grit,” Chivu told Sky Sport Italia.

“We need quality, intensity both defending and attacking, the wing-backs who need to time the runs properly, passes to the strikers. We can’t know what will happen, but we are prepared for any situation.”

Djed Spence didn’t play for months after representing England at the World Cup, but now he is regularly in the starting XI for Inter, so is this an attempt to get him back to full fitness?

“Spence is ready to play another 90 minutes of quality,” assured Chivu.

There is a huge Serie A match coming up this weekend against Como, which is starting to become almost a Scudetto showdown.