Stellini: "We expected a game like this, these wins are doubly important"

TURIN – This afternoon, Inter recorded a hugely important win against a Torino side that defended in numbers and momentarily levelled matters following Lukaku’s opener from the penalty spot. Despite the 70th-minute setback, the Nerazzurri scored a second through Lautaro, who headed home five minutes from the end to secure another three points for Antonio Conte’s men.

This is what Cristian Stellini, who stood in for the suspended Coach, had to say following the game:

“Victories like these are crucial, they are doubly important because certain games aren’t easy to play. The three points up for grabs were also vital for Torino, who sat back and gave little away. You need to produce excellent pieces of play to break the deadlock in these matches. For our first goal, we did well to make the most of a certain match situation, while Sanche and Lautaro did extremely well for our second.”

Did Sanchez and Eriksen change the game?“Certainly. We expected them to shake things up. We’d worked on this during the week because we thought it’d be a hard-fought game.”

Eriksen seems calmer and more settled in. What has changed on an emotional level?“Christian has changed his performances. He’s always tried hard but had some difficulties in getting used to a very tactical league in Serie A. However, he’s now adapted to the league and our system.”

How are Lukaku and Lautaro training? They seem to have such a great understanding…“They have many qualities: they’re fast, physically strong and good in the box. They’re also good with their movement and complement each other well: Lukaku is a point of reference and Lautaro is continually on the move. Another key point is the fact that they also make a contribution when we defend.”

How was it for Conte in the stands?“With the Coach, there are no breaks. His presence keeps us focused: through this, we can continually grow and improve. This is how it should be, he’s our leader. The relationship between the Coach and his staff consists of constant communication, and we work hard on a daily basis to support his ideas. We were expecting a game like this, he complimented us. We’re aware that from now until the end of the season there will be many other complicated fixtures, and we need to be able to find the right solutions.”