Carlos Augusto: ‘Inter need to prove ourselves every single time’ | OneFootball

Carlos Augusto admits Inter lacked the right mentality in their slender Champions League win over Kairat. ‘We need to prove ourselves every single time.’

The Nerazzurri were the over-riding favourites going into San Siro, as this was on paper the simplest fixture in the tournament for them.

They had already won the first three games without conceding a single goal, and took the lead here with Lautaro Martinez, but Ofri Arad was allowed a free header on a corner that was not cleared properly.

Carlos Augusto drilled in the winner from outside the area on a Francesco Pio Esposito lay-off to seal the 2-1 result.

Inter can thank Carlos Augusto for win

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 05: Carlos Augusto of Internazionale (obscured) celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Kairat Almaty at Stadio San Siro on November 05, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“I had warned yesterday, there are no easy games in the Champions League,” Carlos Augusto told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

“We needed to approach this better, the important thing was to win. I was able to score today, but the important thing is that we got the three points.”

Was there a problem with the mentality from Inter against a team from Kazakhstan?

“Yes, we need to prove ourselves every single time we set foot on the pitch. We must be more concentrated. We still created chances and should’ve made more of them, but there were also too many mistakes.

“Everyone thinks these matches are meant to be easy and should finish 5-0, but that’s not the case in modern football. The important thing was getting the result.”

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 05: Ofri Arad of FC Kairat scores his team’s first goal past Yann Sommer of Internazionale during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Kairat Almaty at Stadio San Siro on November 05, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Cristian Chivu seemed irritable on the touchline, so what did he say to the Inter team at half-time?

“It’s quite right that he is tense, he wants us to be fully concentrated at all times,” confessed Carlos Augusto.

“We were too sluggish in the first half, but we still created chances. We scored twice, but can certainly improve.”