Barella: ‘Going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid is what people expect from Inter’ | OneFootball

Nicolo Barella says that Inter must look for the positives after tasting their first defeat of the season in the Champions League last week, but says that going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu is what people now expect from the Nerazzurri, which he thinks is a massive motivation.

Inter are back in Serie A action on Wednesday night at home against Udinese as Cristian Chivu and his players look to maintain their 100% win record at the start of the 2026-27 league campaign. Roma, who beat Torino on Monday night, are the only other side in the division with four wins from four in Serie A.

You can see how the action from all of Monday’s Serie A matches unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog. 

Barella reflects on Real Madrid and previews Inter vs. Udinese

MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 05: Nicolo Barella of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates scoring his team’s fifth goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AS Roma at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 05, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Barella stopped to speak to DAZN ahead of kick-off against Udinese in Serie A, and was asked for his opinions after a rare Inter defeat last week, away against Real Madrid in their 2026-27 Champions League opener.

“We’ve definitely done a lot of studying to understand what we can do better,” said Barella (via TMW).

“You always have to take something positive, even from defeats, and for us it is the fact that we had an open game at the Bernabeu against one of the best teams in the world. That’s what people expect from us.”

MADRID, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 08: Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid is challenged by Andy Diouf of Internazionale during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Real Madrid C.F. and FC Internazionale Milano at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 08, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

And how will Inter approach the rest of the Serie A campaign after tasting their first defeat of the season against Real Madrid?

“The season is a series of races. You have to be well focused on all the matches. Some might be more appealing, but they’re all worth three points. We want to win, that’s always been the case and always will be.

“We have the Scudetto on our shirts, we want to make life hard for those who want to take it away from us.”

Barella was also asked for his thoughts on the increased level of competition in the Inter midfield this season. Hakan Calhanoglu is unavailable tonight, but the Italy international still has competition for playing time from the likes of Curtis Jones, Piotr Zielinski, Petar Sucic, Andy Diouf, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aleksandar Stankovic.

MADRID, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 08: Curtis Jones of Internazionale is challenged by Dean Huijsen of Real Madrid during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Real Madrid C.F. and FC Internazionale Milano at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 08, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“I think it helps everyone to become better, it helps you stay on track and helps you to improve, which is the most important thing. We’ve brought in champions. They want to give us that extra step forwards, as well as wanting a new experience abroad.

“We’re a strong team, we want to go all the way in all competitions.”