Conte talks Lazio-Inter, Eriksen's condition and Lautaro-Barcelona rumours
On the eve of the matchup at the Stadio Olimpico, the Nerazzurri coach spoke in his regular press conference from Appiano Gentile and reflected on the important clash against the Biancoceleste.
"I expect a high-level match. We are talking about a team that is a consolidated reality in the Italian league and last year they won the Coppa Italia and then also the Super Cup. They have grown and kept their strongest players and added some players. Simone Inzaghi has been doing a good job for many years," Conte told Calciomercato.com.
"If it is a title-deciding match? We are two outsiders in Serie A and I think that is the best definition for tomorrow's match."
The former Chelsea and Juventus coach went on to speak about the new arrival Christian Eriksen, who has so far been gradually implemented in the tactical schemes of the team. Moreover, he spoke about the use of VAR in Italy.
"Eriksen is working with us, he understands what we want from him and as I told you, I did something that I had never done before in my career, that is, let him play immediately. After the match against Udinese, someone talked about a bad performance, it was a forced choice. Certainly in the next matches, we will see him from the beginning when I consider it appropriate.
"VAR on call? Honestly, I don't like it, if a situation is clear for everyone to see, let's be clear. What should we call? We already have too many things to do on the bench, what are the others doing there? I can't find one useful thing, the images speak clearly and who is there, sometimes cannot be 100% certain but sometimes...
"Lautaro rumours? Despite his young age, he has enough head on his shoulders to understand that market rumours matter very little. I noticed that we are talking about the Inter market of the future but the players are concentrated, they know that chatter counts for zero."
Finally, Conte returned to the match against Napoli and his expectations for the Lazio clash as well as the physical condition of Samir Handanovic, who has been out with a finger injury for some time now.
"The game against Napoli was different from the derby, they implemented a defensive strategy and collected an excellent result. We have analyzed the derby and the match against Napoli, now a very strong Lazio awaits us, a team that is ahead of us because they have been working together for years.
"Handanovic? I have always referred you to the medical staff on this. For the rest I say that it is a somewhat strange season, we have six to several traumatic injuries and it is difficult to find these numbers during the season. We hope to have everyone available because it is important for us. We have many games to play," Conte concluded.