Antonio Conte lauded the mental fortitude of his title-winning Inter side ahead of the Serie A season finale. The newly-crowned Italian champions will entertain mid-table Udinese at the Giuseppe Meazza in the ultimate round of the 2020-21 Serie A campaign on Sunday.
Inter ended their exhausting 11-year title wait in emphatic fashion, securing the Serie A triumph with four games to spare and a commanding 13-point lead on former champions Juventus. Before last weekend’s controversial 3-2 defeat to the Bianconeri, Conte’s men had gone unbeaten in 20 consecutive league matches, winning 16 of them.
The Nerazzurri have won each of their last 15 Serie A fixtures on home turf, setting a club record for consecutive home victories in the top flight in the process. They now go up against a side they have lost to just once in their last 12 Serie A meetings, accruing 9 triumphs in that period.
Seeking their third successive home league win against Udinese, Inter would smash a 90-point barrier if they outscore Luca Gotti’s struggling side on Sunday.
“Udinese are a very good team and we must always give everything until the end to finish the season in the best possible way,” Conte said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Tomorrow, we want to lift the league trophy after a good performance.
“There was definitely an important growth from all the players this season, not only from a technical and tactical perspective but also with their mentality.
“They have grown a lot. Now they are players who have won something and therefore they know the path to follow to continue winning.“
Inter will be able to celebrate the title in front of one thousand fans at the Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday as supporters begin to return to venues in Italy and Europe. Conte also reflected on the prospect of having fans back to the stadium.
“Tomorrow will be nice. Let’s not forget that everyone works towards the goal of making our fans proud,” the Italian continued.
“Fans are very important for football and we hope that we will have them by our side again soon.”