Conte: "We need to be more ruthless in front of goal"

MILAN – Inter came away with a point today, with the Nerazzurri playing out a 2-2 draw against Parma on home turf. After the match, Antonio Conte had the following to say when responding to questions from journalists:

What is your assessment of the team’s performance? “It was a game where we had to dig in to get the result we did, but it isn’t the first time that we’ve dominated and almost ended up losing. This is football: if you don’t score, you get punished. Yet again, we’ve made a lot of mistakes, we should have got more out of it given all the chances we created. We weren’t precise, and it’s not the first time that this has been the case. We need to try to improve: we must be more determined and ruthless in order to make the most of our chances, otherwise you end up paying for it.”

With Lukaku out, did you expect more from some of your more influential players? “One thing needs to be stressed: we did a lot of attacking and created a lot, meaning our build-up play was good. Our finishing was the issue, and, in this respect, everyone was responsible: attacking involves lots of men and we weren’t precise or determined enough. It’s disappointing, because great commitment was shown. Parma, meanwhile, finished all their chances.”

Inter conceded a goal at the start of the second half after Parma had won the ball back… “We need to react in such situations and immediately try to get the ball back. The defensive line has to do better, the ball was there to be won. We need to start matches with one assumption: if you don’t score, you don’t win. Often, we go through games without allowing the opposition to have any shots, like we did against Genoa and Shakhtar. This evening, as was the case against Borussia, we were punished. We need to win matches that we dominate.”

With no fans in the stadium, is the different environment having an impact? “There are no fans in stadiums, but this was also the case for a while last season. In this respect, there isn't a problem. We’ve seen how teams adapt and change their tactical system when they play us, it means that we have their respect.”