Inter manager Antonio Conte has admitted that his team must take care in tomorrow evening’s Champions League group stage match away to Ukrainian powerhouses Shakhtar Donetsk.
“It is inevitable that there risks are when encountering a strong team that has always shown they are strong both in the Champions League and in the Europa League,” he began an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, which was aired a short time ago.
He went on to add: “They went and won away to Real Madrid, demonstrating the fact that they have a quality team and very strong technically.
“They are fast, good at exploiting spaces and counterattacks. Care must be taken. I think we played a perfect match in the semi finals of the Europa League against them, we were very, very good at having a great match, otherwise that result cannot be explained.”
The 51-year-old former Italian national team boss was then asked whether or not he believes that this Inter is similar to the one who thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 back in August.
“I think that in terms of mentality, there is conviction when it comes to playing a certain type of game, beyond who the opponent is by putting pressure on the ball carrier.
“It is inevitable that we must take into account that we play every three days. Let’s not forget that the day before yesterday we played against Genoa.
“This must be taken into account but there is the awareness of doing things that are known and from this point of view we must have confidence.”
Conte was then asked about the conditions of both Stefano Sensi and Alexis Sanchez, neither of whom travelled with Inter to Kyiv for the match due to injury.
“As far as Sensi is concerned, it becomes difficult to give a timeframe for a return because the results of the last examination of him were positive but he felt a little something and other examinations will be carried out.
“Sanchez has a bit of muscle fatigue, nothing in particular, however, it is right that he recovers well and that he does not carry on with the problem he brought back with him from the national team. It is right that he recovers and that he is fully available.”
In conclusion he was asked about the room for growth he sees his team having and the discussion that he had with central midfielder Arturo Vidal during Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over Genoa.
“Asking Vidal to do more than what he is already doing is difficult, he is always playing. We have no possibility of rotation, we hope to recover Gagliardini soon.
“There is room for improvement, the problem is that this year we have little time and you have to try to improve when making mistakes.”
