Antonio Conte believes Inter have completed ‘an extraordinary achievement’ by overhauling and pulling clear of Juventus in Serie A.
The Nerazzurri visit the Allianz Stadium tomorrow for the fourth and final Derby d’Italia of the season, but the pressure is off for Inter because they have already clinched the Scudetto.
Conte was eager to highlight the swing in momentum between the two clubs since his appointment as head coach in 2019, and the numbers really are impressive.
“The fact we’ve gained 39 points on Juventus in two seasons tells you how extraordinarily well we’ve done,” Conte told Inter TV today, having again decided (together with the club) to skip his pre-match press conference with the media.
“Everyone at Inter deserves credit for what’s been achieved.”
Inter have blown away their title rivals in Serie A this season and Conte admits he is surprised at just how dominant his side have become.
“I didn’t expect the balance of power to be turned upside down like this,” he revealed.
“I’d foreseen a closely fought league, and if you take out Inter that’s what’s happened behind us.
“We’ve chosen a path from the start of the season and we’ve carried on down that road right until the end.
“I thought there’d be more balance, we’ve done something unexpected (by dominating the league).”
Inter have a golden opportunity to knock Juventus out of the race for UEFA Champions League qualification tomorrow, and Conte is demanding maximum focus from each and every one of his players.
“Each game is worth three points and this is what an Inter player must think about,” he insisted.
“It’s inevitable that when you play big teams like this, there’s a bit more difficulty involved, but league seasons are 38 games long.
“The games are all worth three points then, regardless of whether you play against second in the table or the team that’s bottom.”
Conte’s side have already beaten Juventus once in Serie A this season, having secured a comfortable 2-0 win at San Siro back in January.
“During the course of a season, when you face the best teams, there are certain games which can tell you what level you’re at,” he added.
“The reverse fixture against Juventus was a very important one for us; it was very significant for us to beat the team that had won the last nine Serie A titles and had opened a big gap to us.
“Those games can become ‘boomerangs’ if you let them make you arrogant and presumptuous, you can start thinking you’ve achieved everything.
“We didn’t do that though, we capitalised on what we did well in that game and kept doing very well afterwards.”
