Zlatan Ibrahimovic is confident that Internazionale will knock Manchester United out of the European Cup on Wednesday evening, despite the weekend injuries that will leave the Italian champions' defence weakened at Old Trafford.
Inter lost their centre-backs Marco Materazzi and Nicolás Burdisso during Saturday's 2–0 win at Genoa but Ibrahimovic, who scored early on with a lob to set them on the way to three points, sees no reason for concern. "If we play as a team, compact, concentrated and with belief, I am not at all worried," the striker said ahead of the match which begins with the teams level at 0–0 from the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Ibrahimovic's second-minute goal added to the feeling that Inter's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals depend to a significant extent on the Swede. It was his 15th goal of the Serie A season and marked a timely return to form, coming exactly a month after his previous goal, at Lecce. "It was a masterpiece," Jose Mourinho said.
The 27-year-old has not found the net in 15 Champions League knockout stage games with Ajax, Juventus and Inter but Old Trafford provides a perfect stage for him to add weight to Mourinho's claim that "Ibrahimovic is the best player in the world, better than Cristiano Ronaldo".
The first leg at San Siro hardly backed the Inter coach's contention, with Ibrahimovic quiet against Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans, whereas Ronaldo was a continual threat to the home team's defence. But Ibrahimovic and his team-mates have taken confidence from the weekend victory which kept them seven points clear in Serie A.
"It was a crucial win and we earned it against a very strong side that is playing excellent football," said Ibrahimovic, who added that he had not been affected by the nagging knee problem which has troubled him this season. "I am much better than the last few days as I played 90 minutes and felt no pain. Anything can happen in the Champions League. This is a decisive match, we are going there to win but we'll have to wait and see what happens."
The loss of Materazzi and Burdisso forced Mourinho to move the midfielder Esteban Cambiasso into defence on Saturday but Inter's central defence should have a more conventional look on Wednesday. Cristian Chivu is set to return from a minor shoulder complaint and Walter Samuel is expected to overcome a thigh injury to play alongside him.
As Porto's coach, Mourinho eliminated United in this round in 2004 with a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford, a result that would put Inter through this time. "I still think we are favourites to win," he said. "I think the team gave me a great response ahead of the game against Manchester. Maybe we did not attack much but it's normal after taking the lead so early in the game. Maybe Manchester United will not let me sleep well these nights, especially because we have problems with injuries in defence and they are strong in attack."
Ibrahimovic's partner up front is likely to be the Brazilian Adriano, even though the 18-year-old striker Mario Balotelli scored his fourth goal in the past three games for Inter on Saturday.
Balotelli has courted controversy recently and is likely to be on the bench. In the first leg against United he came on as a substitute and fouled Ronaldo before gesturing to the Portugal forward to shut his mouth. He did the same to Roma fans after scoring from a penalty which he had dived to win, and against Genoa he was stopped by his team-mates from arguing with opponents on four occasions.
Inter's president, Massimo Moratti, has asked the striker to calm down. "Mario has a lot of personality but we expect a bit more respect from him," he said. Personality and not too much respect will be wanted by Mourinho from all his players at Old Trafford.
