Inter's dream is to win the Champions League and even if the Nerazzurri lost their opening game away to Real Madrid, their performance proved they are genuine contenders.

That is the view of midfielder Piotr Zielinski, as Christian Chivu's men prepare to resume their Serie A campaign at home to Parma on Saturday, following the international break.

Chivu's Scudetto holders have 13 points on the board domestically, winning their first four games before fighting back to draw with Roma – who lead the table on goal difference – last time out.

In Europe, Inter started their league-phase campaign by losing 2-1 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, with Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde scoring for Madrid.

The Nerazzurri more than played their part in an entertaining contest, though, having more shots (21 to 16), touches in the opposing penalty area (57 to 38) and final-third entries (53 to 27) than Madrid.

Inter face Club Brugge in their next Champions League fixture on October 13, and after all their domestic success, Zielinski is keen to see them take the next step in Europe.

"Of course, it is our dream to win the Champions League, and we'll give it our all, we'll see how it goes," he told reporters, as quoted by Football Italia.

"Not everyone can go to the Bernabeu and dominate the game the way we did, by keeping possession and creating chances. 

"Unfortunately, we lost on the night, but it showed us we are strong and we proved it in Madrid."

Asked who he felt could challenge Inter for the Serie A crown, Zielinski highlighted many of the usual contenders but also a potential surprise package – Cesc Fabregas' Como.

He said: "We'll see as the campaign goes on and try, above all, to focus on ourselves. It's the usual list of suspects: Roma, Juventus, Napoli and Milan, but also Como."

Ahead of the season's resumption, the Opta supercomputer makes Inter favourites to retain the Scudetto with a 45.2% probability, with Roma having a 22.7% chance.

Como are the model's third favourites at 9.7%, having earned 10 points from their first five games, with Juventus (8.6%), AC Milan (5.8%), Lazio (4%) and Napoli (2.6%) also in the running.