Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to remotely connected journalist at a press conference earlier today, discussing tomorrow’s league clash against Atalanta. His words were noted by Italian media outlet FcInterNews.
First, he spoke about how the Nerazzurri would be arriving at tomorrow’s match.
“Like the other teams, this is the seventh match in twenty days. There is a bit of tiredness but also the desire to have a good match.
“We will try to make the right calculations and figure out who is more or less tired and manage the situation.”
He commented on the team’s mood after the 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this week and if striker Romelu Lukaku would be called up for tomorrow’s game.
“The mood is what it must be. Lukaku has trained with us so he will most likely be called up.”
The 51-year-old Italian coach touched on what the squad need to do to repeat their performance in Bergamo last season.
“Last year we did well in many matches. Facing Atalanta is not easy, they have a great coach who gave them credibility.
“They put constant pressure on whoever is in possession and are very good in the offensive phase. We will have to have a great match.”
The former Juventus and Chelsea coach was not worried about the Nerazzurri’s position in the league table.
“Worried about what?”
He elaborated on his answer.
“We have to make our way beyond the worries. If we deserve it, it’s right that we win and the position improves, otherwise it is right that we stay lower. It depends on what we do.”
Conte did not pick between playing badly but winning three points or playing well but not achieving the win.
“I can’t think that I have to play badly to get results, usually it is by playing well that the results come.”
The Italian coach touched on what the Nerazzurri need to do to make a leap in quality.
“We are talking about something little, for now that little is missing. We have to work hard, even harder and try to fix that little bit. If there is, it means that we are not there yet.”
The Inter coach did not think that playing the match in a red zone in Italy, an area heavily affected by Covid-19, was of any concern.
“Needless to say, it does not affect anything because unlike in the past we are much more prepared today, both players and families at home. You train and prepare for matches not counting on the players because there are negatives and false positive cases that do not allow you to train.
“The situation is not easy for anyone, but we have to face it. Often some forget about it but beyond the sporting aspect there is the human aspect that is left out in favor of other things, but it is not easy for those who have to manage these situations.”
Conte touched on his decision not to use five substitutes in the Champions League match against Real Madrid, and how having extra substitutes makes a difference.
“You can see that at that moment there was no need. It’s a good thing that Zidane also did only three of them, if only I had done it. The assumption is that you have to have everyone available and we started with six positive Covid cases, two injured players like Sanchez and Sensi, plus Lukaku.
“Now we have another positive. You have to have the possibility to prepare for certain situations. Five substitutions can change the current game, you can manage at the beginning or start strong. There is a strategy, but it can be implemented if you have the players available.
“If they are not because they are positive, or as soon as they return or are still injured, it becomes difficult to manage.”
Finally, Conte spoke about the current position of Italian midfielder Stefano Sensi.
“For Sensi you need to talk to the doctors and the physical rehabilitation area. For everything else, we have been working with the player for a while but he is not giving results. The player is almost always unavailable.”