Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini believes it is matches like these that help you win the league after the 2-1 win away against Torino at the Stadio Grande Torino.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster immediately after the match, Antonio Conte’s right hand man underlined that winning difficult matches like against Torino are imperative.
“Victories like these are very important. These kind of matches are not easy to play, because the three points were as important for our opponents.
“We did well in taking advantage of the penalty and the assist of Sanchez to Lautaro’s goal.”
Stellini, who was called upon to coach Inter from the sidelines for the third time this season due to Antonio Conte being suspended following a yellow card last weekend against Atalanta, revealed why Christian Eriksen started the game on the bench.
“Absolutely, Christian was in good form although he isn’t physically at 100%, therefore we anticipated a change in gear. We were expecting a tight match and they were brought on to change the pace of the game.”
“Chris has proven to be decisive in our games. He has always continued to fight and it’s more about adapting to a way of playing football where there is no room for mistakes rather than being more calm. Now he has adapted to our way of playing.
Stellini continued by praising Inter’s striker partnership Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez for how theu compliment each other on the pitch.
“They have many dimensions in their game and one completes the other. Lukaku is more of a point of reference while Lautaro has a lot of movement.
“Then they add a lot of sacrifice in their defensive work. Sometimes, when there are a lot of games we have to hold them back during practice. Now we have more time working on specific details.”
Stellini then revealed what Antonio Conte said after the Nerazzurri were able to secure their 8th consecutive win in the Serie A.
“With him there are no breaks. He is our force, and that’s the way it should be.
“This was a game that we knew would be tough. He was very happy praising everyone since he knows how hard these kind of games can be and that there will be more to come.
“It is a constant relationship, but I don’t like to talk about our relationship, I’d rather talk about the entire staff. I don’t bring myself to the bench.
“But I represent the staff including many collaborators who performs a daily work in order to realize the ideas of our coach. The compliments go out to everyone because we are all committed to support our coach.”
The Nerazzurri are now 9 points clear atop of the Serie A with crosstown rivals AC Milan playing Napoli later tonight at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district, with kick-off scheduled for 20.45 CET.
