Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia following the Nerazzurri’s 3-1 victory over Sampdoria tonight in the Serie A.
“I’m satisfied with the victory and the performance, if you play these games in this manner, with such a clarity of ideas, they will be won. In the first half we left the pitch with a 2-0 lead and we could have scored again, then the unbelievable happens, a red card and goal after a dangerous chance.”
“It could have killed anyone but not us, the guys were good at dealing with a complex situation and keep on fighting. From the bench we were able to balance the situation that needed to be more combat oriented. We scored the third goal and created another opportunity with Lukaku. I’m happy because after two minutes the unbelievable happened, that goal to 2-1 could have killed an elephant.”
The Inter coach then spoke about Alessandro Bastoni’s debut and the bookings Inter suffered tonight.
“These are special situations, I chastise those who are immediately warned like Bastoni, who then had a great game. Sometimes you can take away players like I did with Barella, other times you can’t do more. We have to improve in this regard, but it’s an experience that adds to our journey knowing that you have to improve to prevent it from reappearing and compromising everything.”
Conte touched on his happiness at the squad’s growth.
“I’m happy with the guys’ interpretation of my instructions. I’ve been a footballer and I understand that a game can end up in a situation where you find yourself 10 against 11. We’ve kept up the fight, it’s a matter of mentality. We attacked even after the third goal, then we were good at defending the lead. Now we’re enjoying this win.”
The former Juventus and Chelsea coach also discussed the differences between tonight’s performance and the game two weeks ago against Udinese.
“It’s a step forward, we lacked experience and I see the glass as half full. I’d rather have quieter evenings emotionally; we played the first half of the game at a very high level. But finding ourselves in certain situations strengthens us, makes us understand that working together as 10 you can still win.”
“The lads did a good job, even if I would have avoided this waste of physical energy, with it being the fifth game in 12-13 days. We had to go and bring out what we had, now we have to regroup for Barcelona, a challenge that will give us great motivation. Juve? Now let’s focus on Barcelona, let’s go step by step.”
Conte then spoke of the impressive first half performance by the Nerazzurri.
“My football is always organised; we always want to play the ball and work with possession. We did well in other matches too, but today we did well in the first half. We have to do it more continuously, even in other games there have been situations that have made you realize that there is a precise idea.
“Then it’s right to put our character into it, this is important to be able to win: it’s not enough to play well, to win you have to have something more and show it on the pitch. I’ve always coached my teams to play, I always give an idea; then it’s very fashionable, today in Italy they use my system a lot, in England now the national team also plays with a back three.”
Finally, the coach was asked if he’d been following Juventus’ games so far this season.
“I’ve seen a few games. They’re a strong team, coming from eight league titles won in a row, many with good performances. There’s not much to say. But we’re proud of the fact that we will head to the Derby d’Italia with 18 points. But let’s travel quietly from game to game, in time we will define our ambitions.”
