Thierry Henry was left wowed by Alessandro Bastoni’s assist that helped Inter Milan put one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League following their 2-0 first-leg win over Benfica on Tuesday night.
Simone Inzaghi’s side went into the lion’s den and stuck their chest out by, not only securing the win, but also getting that much-needed clean sheet over the line against the Portuguese giants.
Alessandro Bastoni played a big part in that because it was his stunning assist, after a cross from the left flank, that found Nicolo Barella inside the penalty area and the 26-year-old did very well to head the ball into the back of the net.
Tottenham fans must be kicking themselves watching all of this because of how they were booted out of the Champions League following their exit to AC Milan.
To think that either Benfica, Inter Milan, AC Milan or Napoli will make the Champions League final this season is going to be some story, with the Italian sides going great guns.
Nonetheless, following the action in Portugal last night, Thierry Henry was left impressed by what he saw from Bastoni, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (11/04/23 at 10:20 pm).
“I love when a centre-back, playing in a back three, brings the ball out,” said Henry. “I mean, what a delivery there.
“You can see that Gilberto could have probably come out (to stop Bastoni’s cross), but what a ball from Bastoni on the head of Barella, who still has to do a lot to score. What a cross from, Bastoni.”
TOTTENHAM’S INTEREST IN BASTONI
With Antonio Conte out of the door at Spurs and Fabio Paratici, as things stand, banned by FIFA, then it will be interesting to see what this does with the club’s long-term interest in Bastoni.
Whilst Cristian Romero has impressed in north London, there is still the need to add another top-quality defender to their ranks because the likes of loanee, Clement Lenglet and Eric Dier just aren’t good enough.
Someone like Bastoni is a player Tottenham fans have been crying out for – it was reported in March by Inter Live that they are willing to offer the centre-back £119k-a-week – but given Spurs’ current situation, then they can probably wave that one goodbye now.
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