De Vrij warning to Inter: ‘Champions tie not over yet’

Stefan de Vrij ‘knew it would be tough’ for Inter against his old club Feyenoord in the Champions and insists the Round of 16 ‘is not over yet.’

The Nerazzurri were expecting the worst at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, as Bayern Munich and most recently rivals Milan were beaten here in the Champions play-offs.

However, Marcus Thuram’s acrobatic flick off the outside of the boot and a powerful Lautaro Martinez finish sealed a 2-0 victory, while Piotr Zielinski saw his penalty parried by Timon Wellenreuther.

It was a special match for De Vrij, who started his career with Feyenoord and received a warm welcome from the home fans, who also applauded when he was substituted.

Inter defender De Vrij respects Feyenoord

“I really was emotional and very grateful to the Feyenoord fans. They will always be in my heart,” the defender told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

“I knew it would be tough. We weren’t very precise in the first 20-25 minutes, so Feyenoord did well, even though they didn’t create particularly big chances. Then we scored and started the second half much better. We could’ve had a third, while they also clipped the crossbar. It’s a very good result.”

The defence is the rock of this Inter side, who have incredibly kept eight clean sheets in nine Champions games this season, conceding only a single goal.

“We have done very well defensively in the Champions. We all participate and that is very important. Now we’ve got to keep it going, because this tie is not over yet,” concluded De Vrij.

The second leg is at San Siro on Tuesday March 11.