Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to gathered reporters in a press conference earlier today, after the Nerazzurri’s important 3-1 win over Bologna. His words were noted by Italian media outlet FcInterNews.
First, he touched on how important the win is ahead of next week’s key Champions League clash against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
“Absolutely yes, certainly the win and the careful and determined performance are a good step.
“We needed this kind of win because winning helps self-esteem and awareness of one’s own means, it makes you understand that being focused and having will, determination and ferocity from the start we are a difficult team to face.
“I think we arrive in the right way to the game against Shakhtar but we have to be careful not to leave any space for counterattacks because they are deadly. They have fast players, they will come to play the game as they did in Madrid. We are growing in all respects.”
The 51-year-old Italian commented on the performance of Slovakian defender Milan Skriniar.
“Milan is working hard and I think he is a player who is growing like D’Ambrosio, Bastoni, Ranocchia, De Vrij. He knows very well that he has the means to do well, it is inevitable that good performances increase self-esteem and confidence in his own means.
“I am happy because Milan is a serious guy and a great professional. I’m happy because when we enter with the right will it becomes difficult to play against us and we have to bring this situation to increase game after game.”
The former Juventus and Chelsea coach spoke about if Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez was best deployed as a proper forward or as a trequartista.
“Today I used him more as a trequartista because Bologna were a bit distorted. I opted for this solution because I wanted to find the right ball between the lines having a reference point like Romelu around him.
“Right now, he is more of a trequartista but at the same time he also shoots. I expect more in the scoring aspect from him, I always tell him to shoot, sometimes he wants to look for the assist, but he is growing too.
“He’s having time and opportunity, he becomes lethal with the game in progress and I’m rotating him with Romelu and Lautaro to make everyone rest and rotate. Because if you remember when I used him too much, he got tired.”
Finally, Conte spoke about the physical condition of Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, who was touching his thigh when he left the pitch.
“I hope it is nothing terrible. He told me that he slipped and felt a little discomfort. He reassured us, he is a warrior but I hope it is nothing terrible, because we need him in the middle of the pitch as we all need him.”
The Milanese Club have seemingly recovered after their slow start to the season, winning their last three games in a row across all competitions.
Their next game in the league is against 12th place Cagliari, who face Hellas Verona tomorrow.
