Antonio Conte said Inter won away to Brescia through pure determination. “We’re top of the table, but pushing the engine to the max and it can’t go much longer.”

Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku are given no rest due to the injury crisis, but keep on banging in goals, as both were on target at the Stadio Rigamonti for this evening’s 2-1 victory.

Antonio Conte said Inter won away to Brescia through pure determination. “We’re top of the table, but pushing the engine to the max and it can’t go much longer.”

Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku are given no rest due to the injury crisis, but keep on banging in goals, as both were on target at the Stadio Rigamonti for this evening’s 2-1 victory.

“It becomes difficult to talk about the game, because the same players are out there constantly. They struggled to an extraordinary degree,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“It was our fourth game in nine days, with the same players. Any situation or result is acceptable at that point. All we can do is thank them for the spirit they showed to hang in until the end.

“Now we’re only halfway there, as we have another game with Bologna, then Borussia Dortmund and we’ll have seven games in 20 days before we get to rest. It’s an anomaly and I haven’t seen any other side with a fixture list like that, so it seemed very strange to me.

“Some games you need to win just by suffering. They must understand that for many reasons, as for example the hosts are pushing to turn the result around, you have to soak up the pressure, hang in there and I challenge anyone to play four games in nine days while getting a victory at Brescia.

“I’ll take it. I thanked the lads. Inevitably, I’d like more time to prepare matches, especially as we had to change our plans today because Brescia played with practically five at the back and adjusted everything.

“Eugenio Corini did well last season to win the Serie B title, he’s a great coach and was my teammate at Juve, so I know he’s also a wonderful guy.”

Inter director Beppe Marotta tried to reassure Conte before the game that they will dive into the January transfer market for reinforcements.

“It’s not about being reassured. We need to learn from every situation and realise what can happen. I have been inside Planet Inter for four months, I am starting to understand things that I didn’t realise in June. You don’t know what you’re going to discover in the squad, in the players, so you have to work on theory until you see it for yourself.

“So we must try to improve and avoid this type of situation in future. We are top of the table at this moment with 25 points, but we are pushing the engine to the max all the way and it can’t go much longer like this.

“I want to be very honest, as always. We mustn’t think just because we’re up there that everything is fine and we can just close our eyes. If we want to do something important for the future of Inter, we mustn’t get inebriated by victories or think it was a walk in the park.

“I believe these lads are going above and beyond expectations.”

Conte made history this evening as the first Inter coach to see his team score in all his first 13 competitive games.

“The two strikers must move in sync with each other and work for each other, so if one goes to shoot, the other must make the run to open up the space. Lautaro and Lukaku do it very well, they work for the team and get alone with each other well.

“It’s important to have an alternative, which we have found in Sebastiano Esposito, even if he is only 17 years old. We have to keep going like this, Romelu and Lautaro have played practically every game this season and the risk is that someone gets hurt because they aren’t given any rest.

“If that happens, it becomes a genuinely big problem. That’s why I said that I was worried and I think any coach would be in my situation. I’m not lying here, it’s always the same players and that means the risk of an injury is higher.”

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