Dumfries: Pressure not on Inter to win Champions League
Inter lost to Paris Saint-Germain in last term's Champions League final, but Denzel Dumfries does not feel pressure to go one better.
Denzel Dumfries does not believe last season's humbling Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain will serve as extra motivation for Inter to go one better this time around.
Inter were hammered 5-0 by a rampant PSG in May, as the French giants became European champions for the first time.
It was Inter's second Champions League final defeat in the space of two years, following a 1-0 loss to Manchester City in 2023.
The defeat also brought the curtain down on Simone Inzaghi's tenure in charge, with the Italian coach joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal prior to the Club World Cup.
Dumfries, though, insisted that the pressure should not be on Inter to end their recent Champions League heartache this season.
Ahead of Inter's clash with Ajax, Dumfries told reporters: "We’re playing in the Champions League to win.
"We’ve got an excellent squad, but for me, it’s not about doing better than last year.
"We’re a great club and we can win the Champions League, but it’s a difficult competition and we’ll need to give our best starting tomorrow.
"We didn’t start as well as we’d wanted in the league, but it’s up to us to improve and find the right motivation. We’re a squad that has experience and character. We look each other in the eye and we know that we have a lot to improve."
Inter's start in Serie A under Cristian Chivu has been underwhelming, with the Nerazzurri, who lost 4-3 to Juventus in the Derby d'Italia on Saturday, sitting 11th after one win and two defeats from their opening three matches.
"We’ve spoken about the goals we’ve conceded, and for me it’s all about what happens in-game," Dumfries said.
"We played very well against Juve, for example, when you look at the possession, we did what we had to do, but we conceded goals at the wrong time.
"Hopefully, we get better at understanding these moments over the next few games.
"We lost two out of three, it is not the start that we wanted, but we have a lot of experience and want to get back to doing well."
Inter are handed a 50.5% win probability for their clash with Ajax at Johan Cruijff ArenA.
They are unbeaten across all 12 of their Champions League games against teams from the Netherlands (W9 D3), never facing sides from a country more often in the competition without suffering defeat.
