Soccer
Cristian Chivu has demanded his Inter players to deliver a “dominant” victory over Borussia Dortmund in their quest to secure a top-eight finish in the Champions League.
Serie A leaders Inter make the trip to Westfalenstadion on Wednesday and sit 14th in the 36-team table, a point behind the automatic qualification places for the last 16.
Chivu’s side have lost their last three Champions League matches, having been beaten in just three of their previous 27 games (W18 D6 L3).
They have never lost four in a row in UEFA’s flagship competition, and face a Dortmund side who have lost just once (W13 D7) in their last 21 Champions League home games.
Dortmund and Inter have faced each other on six previous occasions in Europe, with the Serie A giants winning three of those matches (two wins for BVB and one draw).
BVB have hosted Inter on three occasions in European competition (W1 D1 L1), with those matches averaging 4.3 goals per game (six goals for Dortmund, seven for Inter).
“We will have the same mentality as always, stepping onto the pitch to win and to be dominant, then at the final whistle we’ll see where we are,” Chivu told Sky Sport Italia.
“Borussia Dortmund have a strong tradition in Europe, being one of the top teams, and there are frankly few opponents that manage to win in this stadium.
“We’ll try to do our best to bring home the result.”
Ready for takeoff pic.twitter.com/vovL0ZpHaM
— Inter (@Inter_en) January 27, 2026
The Nerazzurri had been flying high after winning their first four Champions League games, but lost the next three on the bounce against Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Only Anderlecht in 2000-01 and Paris Saint-Germain between September 2017 and September 2018 have won four in a row, then lost four in a row in Champions League history.
“This is a different competition to Serie A, and we are a bit behind,” Chivu added.
“We had initially been doing better than expectations, then made life difficult for ourselves and the situation now is not ideal.
“Now we want to put in a great performance to bring home the results that we’ve been lacking recently.”
In terms of team news, Nicolo Barella has not travelled to Dortmund after sustaining a muscle injury, while Lautaro Martinez could start the game on the bench.
Martinez is one booking away from a suspension, but Chivu revealed that the Argentine’s minutes also needed to be managed.
“We don’t have time to make these kinds of calculations, as we play so often. We’ll try to pick the best possible line-up. Does that mean Lautaro will start? I don’t know,” he said.
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