Inter coach Antonio Conte discussed the Nerazzurri’s Europa League clash against Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow evening in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia earlier this evening.
First, he discussed the qualities of the German side.
“They’re good at counter attacking, you have to be careful because on an open pitch they can hurt so we need to be careful of that.”
He commented on what Inter need to do to beat Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow.
“Definitely compactness and try to play the match we’ve prepared in the possession and non-possession phase. These are games that are often decided by the details, we have to be careful.”
The 51-year-old Italian coach touched on how he hopes the squad will replicate the work done in training against the German club.
“I expect the work to appear. The team has to think about doing well and do what they do best, playing football. That’s what every coach is hoping for, that the team will perform.”
He wished luck to his former player Andrea Pirlo, who was appointed head coach of Juventus recently after the dismissal of Maurizio Sarri. Pirlo has no previous coaching experience.
“I’m wish him the best of luck.”
Finally, Conte spoke about how there can be no favourites in the single legged knockout game.
“These are games where there are no favourites, when you get to the quarter-finals or semi-finals there are no favourites.
“As I said before the Getafe game, we have to prove we’re worth the semi-finals. We have shown that we deserve to get to the quarter-finals against Getafe now we have to show that we can make it to the semi-finals, taking a path that is satisfying.”
Conte knows the pressure is on for tomorrow evening’s game, as he failed to guide the Nerazzurri to success in either the league or the Coppa Italia this season.
The 51-year-old criticised the club’s management in the media earlier this month and will meet with president Steven Zhang at the end of the season to discuss his future, according to several reports.
