Antonio Conte: Dortmund System Change Showed 'They Were Afraid' of Inter Milan

Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte has said he thinks Borussia Dortmund were "afraid" of his side in their UEFA Champions League meeting on Wednesday.

Inter eventually ran out 2-0 winners in the game, with Lautaro Martinez and Antonio Candreva on target either side of half time. The Serie A side were the more ruthless of the two teams on the night, with Dortmund unable to slip into their trademark attacking groove.

The Bundesliga outfit's lack of fluidity may have been down to the fact they changed their system, with manager Lucien Favre using a three-man defence.

Conte discussed the tactical change post-match, per Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia):

"Borussia Dortmund changed their system to five at the back, which means they were afraid of us and wanted to play by changing their approach to mirror ours.

"We had prepared for a very different match, but did well to adjust. When Dortmund switched back to 4-2-3-1 after the break, we adjusted again and took control.

"We had prepared to press them in certain areas of the pitch and they changed their system, so that was no longer valid. The most important thing I told the lads was not to lose possession in central areas, as that is where they push forward on the counter."

Here are the highlights from the encounter at the San Siro, with three points for Inter seeing them move above Dortmund into second place in Group F on goal difference:

Per B/R Football, it was clear how much the win meant to Conte, as he celebrated wildly with Candreva after he scored the match-clinching goal:

Dortmund were able to control the ball for long spells at the San Siro, although they were unable to carve open a rock-solid Inter defence with any great frequency.

That performance was ultimately a platform that allowed the Serie A side to win the game. Aside from Martinez's saved penalty, the Nerazzurri were ruthless with the opportunities that came their way, with the Argentina international especially impressive up top.

Per Scouted Football, the 22-year-old is showing an appetite for the big stage and making encouraging improvements in other areas of his play, too:

Kevin Egan thinks Martinez has the attributes to go to the top of the game:

Conte's team are now in a strong position to qualify from what is a challenging group. In addition to Dortmund, Barcelona are also battling to get out of Group F, while the side many expected to be the whipping boys—Slavia Prague—have battled admirably so far.

Overall, it's been a strong start to the season for Conte, as he appears set to turn Inter into challengers for major honours once again.