Antonio Conte has shared his thoughts and feelings following Inter’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona, in which they put in a great performance despite the end result.
“For sure we are headed home with our heads held high but inside we must carry the feeling of regret because we have suffered a defeat,” he said in an interview with Inter TV.
“I asked for courage and personality from the team and I got that. The boys responded well to what I asked of them but it hurts to lose in the way that we did, especially after the effort we put in and the chances we created.”
He then spoke on Inter’s next match against arch-rivals Juventus.
“There is bitterness and anger but this must lead to us trying to do even more and continue on this growth path that has been right and beautiful so far. Now we’ve got to process this defeat but we have another great game coming against great players. We will have to be ready and recover our energy.”
He concluded by returning to the performance against Barcelona.
“In the first half we were good even in the high pressure situations. Until their equaliser, shortly after the penalty incident, we responded blow for blow. Then maybe we dropped off a little too much.
“We need to understand where their merits begin and where our demerits stop. I am proud of the performance anyway but the defeat hurts me and must hurt the players.”
