Inter coach Antonio Conte has claimed Atalanta are the team in Italy with the “best form” and expects a “demanding test” that’s “important to win”.
After back-to-back 5-0 wins, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men travel to face the league leaders in Milan on Saturday and the 50-year-old Nerazzurri coach expects an “intense” match against a team that “continue to grow”.
Inter coach Antonio Conte has claimed Atalanta are the team in Italy with the “best form” and expects a “demanding test” that’s “important to win”.
After back-to-back 5-0 wins, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men travel to face the league leaders in Milan on Saturday and the 50-year-old Nerazzurri coach expects an “intense” match against a team that “continue to grow”.
“It will be important to win, because we are playing a great team currently with the best form in the League,” Conte said at a press conference. “They continue to grow and are much stronger than they were last year.
“It will be a demanding test. Gasperini is doing a great job. He’s been working on his ideas and the details of it for a while. Compliments to Giampiero, he is a hard worker. Atalanta are a beautiful team to watch.”
“I expect an intense and physical game, played with high intensity by both sides,” he said. “We must be happy with our own path, but also need to improve in several aspects of our game.
“They’re ahead, because they come from a longer path.”
Conte’s men have only conceded 15 goals in 18 games, but their opponents are the ones who have scored the most in the League so far this term with 48 goals – nine more than Inter.
“To win, you must score goals, and you need to attack in a great way. But the balance becomes fundamental… Of course. It makes no sense to score many goals and then concede as many. I’ve never seen a team win the championship with an attack on the level of a team in the middle of the table.”
Conte has claimed it’s not important who are top at the halfway line and said it all “depends on us”.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “The winner is whoever crosses the finish line first, not halfway.
“We have to win tomorrow, and it won’t be easy. They want to do the same. We need to play a great game, because they will really test us. It all depends on us.”