Conte: "We did well to stay calm after they equalised"

MILAN – Antonio Conte’s Inter side started 2021 in excellent fashion, beating Crotone 6-2 at San Siro to record their eighth consecutive league victory. After falling behind, the Nerazzurri responded through Lautaro and a Marrone own goal, but Golemic equalised from the penalty spot before the half-time whistle. After the break, Lautaro bagged another two goals, while Lukaku and Hakimi also got on the scoresheet.

This is what the Coach had to say to Sky following today’s match:

How significant is this win for Inter?"I think there was a good response today. We started in the right fashion, but then Crotone won a corner and surprised us. We did well to turn it around, and then a naïve mistake allowed our opponents to draw level. We did well, because the goal to make it 2-2 could have sparked anxiety. However, the lads remained calm and showed patience to bring home another win."

What is Lukaku’s condition?"We’ll see tomorrow, he told me that he’d felt a slight muscular problem in his quadricep. He experienced some discomfort and we substituted him immediately, so hopefully it’s nothing serious. We’ll see if he can play against Sampdoria."

What needs to be done for Vidal to discover his best form?“Arturo certainly needs to work and keep his head down, because he has room to improve. Here, nobody has a guaranteed place in the team, and he needs to prove that he deserves to play. He must do much better than he’s currently doing, the up-and-down nature of his performances is something we can’t afford to continue. We’re happy that Sensi is back fit, because last season he had several problems and we’ve rarely had him at our disposal up to now. He’s now finally finding continuity again. Then there’s Gagliardini, who always provides guarantees when he’s called upon."

How important is Hakimi? His speed and the way he adds depth to Inter’s play makes him unique…  "He’s improving a great deal, including in his defending. When he arrived at Inter, his only focus was on attacking. We’ve been making him understand the importance of defensive aspects. He’s knuckling down and is now a much better player compared to when he joined. He’s providing guarantees, which is what I was looking for."