Inter coach Antonio Conte discussed the Milanese club’s exciting 6-2 win over Crotone earlier today in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia after the game.
First, he commented on how important today’s win was.
“Good answers today, also because we had started in the right way. Then there was this corner where they surprised us.
“We did well to turn it around, then the naivety on the penalty could have created anxiety and nervousness. But we did well to get back on track and bring home another win.”
The 51-year-old Italian coach touched on the physical condition of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who went off in the 75th minute with a muscle injury.
“He told me he had a small quadriceps strain, we’ll see tomorrow if he’s at risk for the Sampdoria game. We took him off straight away, I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
The former Chelsea and Juventus coach spoke about what he needs to do to get the real Arturo Vidal back.
“Arturo has important margins for improvement, he definitely needs to work. Keep your head down and keep working, nobody is guaranteed a place here and he has to prove he deserves to play.
“He must do much better than what he is doing.”
He elaborated more on his previous answer, as well as touching on the return of Italian midfielder Stefano Sensi.
“I repeat, he has to do much better and I’m referring to what we’ve seen so far. Too many ups and downs, and we can’t afford them.
“He knows this, he knows he has to go back to training because maybe when you play in big teams sometimes this aspect takes a back seat and you go in as a bull.
“Here instead you have to raise the level, he knows that. We’ll give him time. At the same time, we’re happy to have Sensi back, we’re keeping our fingers crossed. He’s coming back in top condition.
“Then we have Gagliardini who is a guarantee. We’re happy. In the second half, apart from Hakimi, it was the same team as last year.”
Finally, Conte spoke about the progress of Moroccan wing back Achraf Hakimi, who joined the club in a deal worth around €40 million from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.
“He’s improving a lot in defense. He came here thinking only of one phase, but we made him understand the importance of defending as a wing back.
“He’s a much better player today than he was at the start of the season. I credit him for questioning himself and now he’s starting to offer the guarantees I was looking for.”
Inter’s win over the newly promoted Calabrian side means that they are now top of the league table after 15 games, sitting on 36 points.
If AC Milan manage to beat Pippo Inzaghi’s Benevento this evening, then the Rossoneri will return to the top of the table.