Inter Milan are not a great team yet but are growing, striker Romelu Lukaku said after he scored twice in a crucial 3-2 victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday that handed the Italians a lifeline in the Champions League.
The Belgian forward notched both goals in the second half to keep Inter in the battle for a knockout spot going into their last Group B match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Yet they conceded a goal to the Germans in the 76th minute to set up a tense finale to the game.
"Maybe we are not a great team yet but we are growing," Lukaku said. "Obviously when you are leading 3-1 you have to avoid the risks we had tonight and kill the game when you have the chance to."
The Italians, who also hit the woodwork in the second half, could have finished it with a string of good chances but instead saw Gladbach score and then put the ball in the net again in the 84th minute only for it to be ruled for offside by VAR.
"They scored and we were lucky that their goal was offside. We hope this win will give strength for the future," he said.
Lukaku has scored four goals against Gladbach, after netting twice, including a last-minute equaliser, in their 2-2 draw in Italy.
"I'm happy to be playing with these lads because they helped me grow a lot, the 27-year-old said. "I think I have been playing my best football in this last year and a half and I owe it to my coach and my team mates.
"I'm only one of the 25 players in the squad. We have players with more experience than me. I just want to help the team win games and I'm happy when it happens."
Inter need to beat Ukraine's Shakhtar to have any hope of advancing.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)
