Antonio Conte was full of praise for Inter players following a 2-0 away win against rock-bottom Crotone on Saturday. The Nerazzurri perhaps took a decisive step towards halting Juventus’ dominance of Serie A with a victory in Calabria.
Christian Eriksen broke the deadlock in the 69th minute following a goalless first half before Achraf Hakimi sealed Crotone’s faith at the Stadio Ezio Scida. Inter are now a win away from claiming their first title in Serie A since the 2009/10 campaign while Crotone prepare for a Serie B return.
The Lombardian heavyweights might not even have to wait until next week to be crowned the champions if Atalanta fail to defeat Sassuolo on Sunday.
Despite some sporadic misunderstandings, Conte has proved to be the catalyst to help Inter end a decade-long title wait and re-establish themselves as a supreme force in Italian football.
During the post-match interview, the 51-year-old manager has offered his view of the current atmosphere at the Giuseppe Meazza.
“This match has the flavor of victory, of having approached it in an important way in order to achieve an extraordinary objective,” Conte told the club’s official website, as relayed by SempreInter.
“Seeing a bit of everything that we have managed to do in these two years, I have to compliment the guys because they worked so hard and shared this dream. Today they are one step away from realizing it.
“I see the satisfaction on the players’ faces because it is something that is changing the status of many of them. I have spoken a lot about a winning mentality and the fact that the only way to enter the history of the club is to win.
“A prestigious club like Inter, where the fans were are linked to the treble, finally winning such a Scudetto is extraordinary. It also takes into account that there was a reign that lasted nine years. This is a truly incredible thing, and all the credit goes to these guys.”