Inter manager Antonio Conte has shared his belief that points such as the three picked up thanks to the win against Napoli are worth double due to the opponent.
Inter narrowly beat Napoli 1-0 thanks to a Romelu Lukaku penalty in the second half and are now sitting just one point off of top spot in the Serie A standings after AC Milan drew 2-2 with Genoa.
“I told the lads at the end of the game a victory like this can do us well. It was not an easy match, Napoli are really an excellent team,” he explained in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, following the end of the match at San Siro.
“It was a very tactical game, there was great respect shown on the part of both sides and it certainly wasn’t a beautiful match but these are important points, against an ambitious antagonist, which are worth double.”
Conte was then asked how much he disliked the way that the game ended at San Siro with Inter finding themselves under heavy pressure.
“It was inevitable that the team felt the importance and weight of the match. We knew it would not be easy, in the end we played without fluidity to keep the result.
“Bringing home games like this is also important for growth. The team must also learn to suffer, even if we would prefer to suffer not so much but beating such strong teams is a good sign.”
The former Italian national team boss was asked whether matches like tonight’s are ones where only the result matters and not the performance.
“Yes, absolutely. They are difficult matches because they can be won or lost. Napoli are an excellent team, with an excellent coach and great organisation.
“Gattuso said it well, maybe we made it ugly, it was a lot of tactics. We had experience against them from the previous season, so we had prepared a strategy to nullify their attack.
“Only towards the end did something come loose. These are matches that you have to win and, if you can, you take them, put them in your pocket and you are happy.”
In conclusion the ex-Chelsea coach, who has been in charge of Inter for 18 months, spoke on the way Napoli played and the slice of luck Inter had right at the end.
“They defended deep and covered all the spaces and then went on the counter with Insigne and Lozano.
“In the first half we tried to press them quite high and they were good at playing the way they had prepared to, given that Zielinski put us in difficulty behind Brozovic.
“In the end it paid off, thankfully lucky when Petagna hit the post.”