Inter manager Luciano Spalletti addressed the gathered media at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino following the Nerazzurri’s 1-0 defeat to Torino.

“In my opinion, if you take away the goal, we are talking about two equal teams. Maybe we made more mistakes in the general quality of the game and we conceded a goal when we should not have from a set piece but we were ready to tackle all those situations just as our opponents were.”

He then spoke on the decision to change the system to 3-5-2.

“The choice for the starting lineup was due to the lack of wingers. Candreva was the only fit one. Politano was unwell, that is why I chose to play him for the last 20 minutes. Perisic was out due to injury and I could not put him on. Also, this was a good opportunity to elevate the team from a physical point of view and to let the two strikers play together.”

He next spoke on the Inter midfield’s apparent inability to lift the team in difficult moments.

“It is part of play at this kind of level that you have to engage in, in these kind of games and it also depends on the characteristics of the players. On a field like the one we played on today, the team with the most strength was favoured.”

He concluded by commenting on how Lautaro Martinez and Mauro Icardi fared alongside each other.

“In the second half, Torino closed up the spaces and it became clear the we missed the wingers being able to go one against one. We were forced to concentrate a bit more towards them at the same time as they got more compact facing our attacks.

“Icardi has to move away a bit when we play with two attackers. When we counter attack it is obvious that we are one man down when it comes to transporting the ball to our attack. However, I did not mind seeing them play together, I think they both did well.”