Inter braced for Feyenoord threat as Robin van Persie makes Champions League bow

Inter Milan will try to avoid the same fate as their city rivals when they take on Feyenoord in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Simone Inzaghi’s side head to Rotterdam on Wednesday for the first leg of the clash and they will certainly not be taking the Dutch side lightly.

After beating Bayern Munich 3-0 in the group stage at De Kuip, Feyenoord piled more misery on struggling AC Milan with a 2-1 aggregate victory in the play-offs.

That earned them a crack at 2023 finalists Inter, who progressed straight through to the knockout stages after finishing fourth in the group table.

Wednesday’s clash will be a first experience of the Champions League as a manager for former Feyenoord, Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie.

The Rotterdam team’s success against Milan came under the guidance of interim boss Pascal Bosschaart, with Van Persie appointed on February 23 after nine months in charge of Heerenveen.

The 41-year-old hopes Feyenoord can make the most of home advantage, saying at a press conference: “Against Bayern at home, for example, we saw the magic of De Kuip.

“The difference tomorrow is that I will experience it from the sidelines and I am really looking forward to it for the first time in the Champions League as a coach. My players are in good shape, they’ve trained well and are positive about what lies ahead.

“I am very happy with the collaboration with the staff so far and it’s a very nice working environment.”

Feyenoord and Inter’s only previous competitive meetings came in the semi-finals of what was then known as the UEFA Cup in 2002.

The two-legged tie saw the Dutch side come out on top 3-2 on aggregate before going on to win what remains their last European trophy.

They will be without right-back Givairo Read, who must serve a one-match ban after being sent off as tempers flared following the final whistle of the second leg against Milan.

“I think we will have the ball a bit more but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will create more chances,” said Van Persie.

“That’s the challenge. And it’s important to keep a close eye on Inter’s threats, because their strength lies in transitional moments.”

Inzaghi’s team sit top of the Serie A table after drawing with title rivals Napoli at the weekend but they are winless in their last four away matches and face something of an injury crisis.

Federico Dimarco, Nicola Zalewski, Carlos Augusto, Yann Sommer and Matteo Darmian are all expected to miss Wednesday’s match.