Coach Antonio Conte: “A Tough Inter Today, I Think We Deserved More But We Lacked Killer Instinct”

Inter coach Antonio Conte commented on the Milanese club’s cagey 1-1 draw against Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta in an interview with Italian broadcaster Inter TV after the game.

“Atalanta, as we know, have gained credibility both in Serie A and internationally. Today, however, we have to talk about a tough Inter, where I think we deserved something more.

“We had the opportunity to close out the match, in this last period we lack the killer instinct. I think we had an excellent match against an extraordinary opponent, especially offensively.”

He commented on how the Nerazzurri squad have suffered a variety of injuries, as well as multiple positive cases of Covid-19.

“We are gradually recovering all the players, let’s not forget that we started with six positive cases and three injured players.

“Many guys had to play more than expected, which led to fatigue like Romelu’s. I hope that from the international break everyone can come back in a good condition, there will be a need to make rotations.”

The 51-year-old Italian coach suggested that the upcoming international break has come at the right time for Inter, as well as other clubs.

“I think this break comes at the right time for everyone. We played seven games in 20 days, playing a good part of the Champions League group stage.

“We played against all important opponents, my hope is that the players will all come back healthy from the international break, there will be 10 games every three days and it will be a big effort.”

The former Juventus and Chelsea coach touched on what the squad are missing to change their dominating performances into consistent three points.

“First of all, there is one aspect that many people do not consider, the fact that some new players have arrived, others have returned from experiences in other teams.

“It is necessary to take into account the little time available for the pre-season.

“Last year we may have been less beautiful in terms of the game, but we were more brilliant at managing the result.”

Finally, Conte spoke about the work on the road ahead and what will be done.

“We have to work on adapting the different characteristics of the players to our philosophy, especially midfielders and wingers.

“Apart from Gagliardini we have all offensive midfielders, on the wings we have wingers like Hakimi and Perisic.

“We need to find the right balance, I think that today the team did well against an opponent like Atalanta.”

Inter head into the upcoming international break in sixth place in the league table, with 12 points. The Milanese club only have two points in their Champions League group, putting them bottom.

Antonio Conte’s side’s next game will be against Torino on the 22^nd November, before they face Spanish side Real Madrid again the following week in a crucial European fixture.