Conte: ‘Vidal has to do much better’

Antonio Conte warns Arturo Vidal ‘has to do much better and nobody is guaranteed a place’ in the Inter line-up, while there are concerns over Romelu Lukaku’s injury.

Although Crotone had taken the lead and were 2-2 at half-time, the Nerazzurri stepped on the gas to eventually win 6-2 with a Lautaro Martinez hat-trick.

This was Inter’s eighth consecutive Serie A victory and put them temporarily top of the table, awaiting Milan’s trip to Benevento this evening.

“There was a good response today and I felt we started the right way by being aggressive. Crotone pushed seven players up and surprised us on the corner,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“We did well to turn it around, then a naïve error on the penalty could’ve sparked anxiety, but the lads instead did really well to stay focused, keep creating scoring opportunities and bring home another victory.”

Lukaku went off with a muscular issue in his thigh just after scoring the goal.

“Romelu felt a slight muscular problem in his quadricep, we’ll see if he is at risk against Sampdoria or not. As soon as he felt that twinge, we immediately substituted him, so hopefully it’s nothing serious.”

Conte was asked about Vidal, who gave away a penalty for a foul on Arkadiusz Reca and was substituted at half-time.

“He can improve a great deal. He certainly needs to work, keep his head down and work hard, because nobody has a guaranteed place in this team. He has to prove he deserves to play and do much better than he is doing at the moment.”

It was pointed out that his face suggested Conte would happily slap Vidal at this moment and the coach smiled.

“When I say he has to do much better, I am referring to the too many ups and downs, which we as Inter cannot afford. He knows that, he knows he has to get back to training harder, because playing for big clubs you can sometimes use training for back-heel flicks and fun, but that’s not the case here.

“We’re glad Stefano Sensi is back, because we basically only had him for seven games last season. We have Roberto Gagliardini, who is a guarantee when he comes on, so we’re happy. We have alternatives and must try to keep improving.

“In the second half, aside from Achraf Hakimi, it was basically the same line-up as last season. Hakimi is improving a great deal in his defending, as he arrived at Inter only focusing on attack, but we explained the importance of the wing-backs when defending.

“He deserves credit for really knuckling down and can provide guarantees in defence too now.”