Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini, who filled in for the suspended Antonio Conte, discussed the Nerazzurri’s important 2-1 comeback against Parma in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia after the game.
First, the Italian spoke about the team’s performance against the Emilian club.
“In the meantime, in my opinion this was a well deserved win. We gave Parma a lot of chances knowing that this is one of the most difficult teams to face in the restart.
“They did well, they scored, but we built the game up and had a lot of chances. In the end we won deservedly.”
He discussed how difficult it is for the squad to play every three days, especially considering the long break the squad have just undergone.
“Right now, it’s not easy to have all the players ready. Even today we had two players playing their first match in 3-4 months, and that’s not easy for anyone, especially when you’re facing the Parma strikers.
“What’s more, in the first three games we conceded 5 goals out of 8 shots on target, which is not normal. We need to analyse things thoroughly. We need to be satisfied, we needed an important answer and we gave it. Whoever goes in from now on has to make the difference.”
Stellini commented on how the partnership between Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez seems to have deteriorated since the inclusion of a trequartista in the squad.
“It’s true, we don’t always find the two strikers combining. These are choices that are made from match to match, we’ve created a lot in these games. The opportunities must be exploited, if we had done so we wouldn’t be talking about a team in pain.
“We’ve changed a few things, we still have to grow for these new things, but we create opportunities. Whether they come from the wings, the trequartista or the exchanges, it’s because we’re looking for unpredictability.”
He spoke about how the midfield pair need to improve their ability to cover the centre of the pitch, considering the inclusion of Christian Eriksen.
“We still have improvements to make, we don’t expect to put new things in right away and have the right balance. We’re looking ahead, but tonight we deserved the win. We played, we reacted, it wasn’t easy.”
The Inter assistant coach was positive about the result, despite the fact that the team again failed to fully take advantage of their chances.
“We don’t have to expect everything to be smooth and perfect when you put in important tactics. You win games by standing there with your head in the game and waiting for your moment.
“It’s not just a good game or non-suffering that makes you win, against Napoli we didn’t suffer but we didn’t win. We believe in our players, in our way, today we brought home an important result.”
Finally, Stellini talked about the lack of creativity in the midfield and if Stefano Sensi is missed.
“It’s normal that we’re missing fundamental elements in the middle of the pitch. But it’s clearly not the time to talk about the absentees.
“When attackers enter a period where they make mistakes in front of goal, it becomes an issue. We have to trust that their time will come, and anyway Lautaro and Lukaku have scored a lot.”
