Antonio Conte wants Inter to knock Juventus out of Serie A’s top four next weekend, according to a report in the Italian media today.
As per Gazzetta dello Sport’s print edition, the Nerazzurri have nothing tangible to play for in their last four games of the season after becoming Serie A champions on Sunday.
Conte’s side cannot be caught at the top of the table and do not have a points record to chase, so they could try and help Romelu Lukaku in his bid to overhaul Cristiano Ronaldo in the Serie A scoring charts.
However, the real carrot for Conte would be to beat his old club Juventus in next Saturday’s Derby d’Italia and damage their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
Conte has ‘circled the match in red’ on his calendar, the Milan-based paper suggested, because it gives Inter a chance to pick up a prestigious win but also give themselves a boost for next year’s title defence.
If Juventus missed out on a top four finish, the Bianconeri would need to review their plans and perhaps limit their scope for investment in the summer, thereby weakening them for the 2021-22 season.
Inter would be stronger favourites to win Serie A next year if that happened, the report argued, although Conte and the club are already setting their sights on securing a second star (for a 20th scudetto) anyway.
