Conte: "The difficulties faced have made this group grow even more"

MILAN - 2019 ended in the best way possible for Antonio Conte’s Inter who beat Genoa 4-0 at the Stadio Meazza thanks to a Lukaku brace, Gagliardini’s strike and Sebastiano Esposito’s first goal in Serie A. 

“We didn’t need to wait for this game to say that the team has grown in every aspect,” he began by saying. “The difficulties faced have made the squad more responsible and meant that everyone has been involved. This shows that we’ve always had the right attitude and that includes those who’ve played less and we need to keep working hard because that’s the only way we can keep improving.” 

“Today’s match wasn’t easy but we put in a brilliant performance despite all the difficulties and players missing. Gagliardini, Vecino and Borja Valero made themselves available even though they weren’t in the best condition and when you have these players who put the team ahead of everything, you can be pleased regardless of the result. Now, we need to keep it up and keep surprising people while looking to get better every day.” 

There was also an inevitable word on Sebastiano Esposito, who tonight became the second youngest scorer in Inter’s history in Serie A: “He was practically a child when he arrived at the training camp this summer, but he’s grown massively in the last few months and I had said that at some unexpected point I’d be counting on him in times of need. He had a big chance today and he certainly made the most of it. He’s got a great future ahead of him, both his family and myself will help him, and if he continues like this then he’ll only improve.”

To conclude, a look back over things ahead of the halfway point of the season: “I’m happy to be coaching this group of guys, they’re exceptional and it’s a pleasure for me to go to the Suning Training Centre every day. The group is improving, they’ve taken on a lot of responsibility but we know that we still have a long way to go.”