Sergio Conceicao has responded to the claims of his opposite number Simone Inzaghi, who insisted Inter should have had a penalty against AC Milan.
Inzaghi made it clear after the game that his belief was that the Nerazzurri were denied an obvious penalty in the second half last night, when Marcus Thuram went down under a challenge from Strahinja Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez.
The score was 1-0 to the Rossoneri at the time so there was perhaps a bit of panic that Inter were going to lose a third derby in a row. Then, in the 93rd minute, the ‘away’ side did get the equalising goal with Stefan De Vrij firing in from close range.
That would be the way that the game ended and it will leave both managers with mixed feelings, especially Conceicao who will have wanted a win to end a difficult week in which there was even talk of him being sacked.
Conceiçao spoke in his post-match press conference at the end of the game and provided his assessment of another dramatic derby, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Were Milan a team today?
“We did a good job mentally, playing against a strong team that we know very well and that is difficult to deal with with the mobility it creates. If you’re not careful, you’ll get into trouble. Abraham stole the ball on our first goal like Morata in the Supercoppa.
“Honestly, if they ask me if the draw is fair, I say yes, but today I saw two important signs: when I arrived in the dressing room I saw my players very disappointed and sad, while there was great joy in the Inter players.”
Is a midfielder missing?
“We have Loftus-Cheek injured, that’s how it is at the moment.”
Simone Inzaghi said it was a penalty on Thuram…
“I honestly haven’t seen it again. Inzaghi also talked about the alleged foul in midfield that led to Reijnders’ first goal, I don’t know. Simone talks about what he has to talk about.
“Maybe he said that because he was disappointed, maybe because he thought he would find a team that was a little inferior in terms of play and attitude.
“Instead he found a strong team in front of him with great ambition in the match. I shouldn’t even comment on what he said, it’s his opinion and I respect it, that’s all.”
Should it have been a penalty on Marcus Thuram?
“The goal we conceded was against two kids who came on, but they gave their all; these things can then be corrected in training. I tried to give the team compactness.
“I put Camarda, Chukwueze and Jimenez in order to score the second goal, we didn’t hide. I put Gabbia in to have presence on set pieces. But in the end, football is like that. Credit to Inter.”
Can you promise us this attitude always?
“We want this consistency for all competitions. Now the transfer window is over. They even said I’ve got my bags packed, I’ve been here for a month! The team is connected on our way of playing. We’re working, also on intensity.”
Do you have the right players?
“At the moment, no, because they are not trained and the video is not enough, they are standing still. I like a team that presses, compact, high, aggressive, with intensity.
“Now we do not have this, so we have to adapt our game by being intelligent. Today we were a little lower, perhaps too much in the second half. We are working.”
