‘Lay off the wine’: Antonio Conte hits back at Inter Milan critics

The Italian believes the Nerazzurri lack a “killer instinct”, with his team seventh and five points off top

Antonio Conte has hit out at critics of Inter (AFP)

Antonio Conte has hit back at Inter Milan’s critics and suggested that they “lay off the wine”.

The Nerazzurri are now four games without a victory and sit seventh in Serie A after a 1-1 draw with Atalanta, with city rivals AC Milan five points ahead at the top of the table.

Conte’s side have also struggled in Europe, failing to win any of their opening three games in the Champions League, with draws against Borussia Monchengladbach and Shakhtar Donetsk, before a defeat to Real Madrid.

Some have noticed Conte has been less animated on the touchline than usual, but the former Juventus and Chelsea manager has bluntly dismissed this theory. 

"I'd advise them to lay off the wine," Conte responded.

Conte has hit out at his critics (AFP)

After a five-game drought, Lautaro Martinez has now scored in back-to-back games, initially putting them ahead before Atalanta hit back through Aleksey Miranchuk.

And Conte has admitted his frustration at failing to punish teams.

“Atalanta found it difficult to play against us,” Conte told Sky Sports Italia. “We had chances to kill off the game but we are maybe missing that killer instinct to take home the results we deserve.

“The fact people expect so much from Inter means that in the space of a year teams have learned to fear us. In the past we would have come here and not been feared at all.”

Next up for Inter after the international break is Torino, before a crucial home game in the Champions League against Real Madrid.