Inter are having highs and lows in their Scudetto race, having gone from an impressive win at Liverpool to rescuing a point at Torino and will be facing one more challenging task against Fiorentina on Saturday, writes Richard Hall.
Inter received high praise from the Italian media after their win against Liverpool. And rightly so. They may have lost over the two legs, but the performance at Anfield was encouraging, especially because the previous weeks had been tricky. The convincing win on England soil seemed to have once again boosted Simone Inzaghi’s men’s title hopes, but another disappointing draw at Torino partially threw the Nerazzurri in the dark. It wasn’t just another draw. The result at the Grande Torino meant that the Nerazzuri’s fate is no longer in their hands as they’d be one point behind their city rivals Milan even by winning their game in hand against Bologna.
The Nerazzurri’s 2022 has been far from convincing so far. Inzaghi’s boys were criticised for their run of form after the loss in the Derby Della Madonnina. A draw with Napoli, defeats to Sassuolo and Liverpool (first leg) and a poor draw at Genoa. The criticism came on the poor form of Lautaro, the bizarre defensive switch-off and the fact that they looked tired after a tough run of games. The victory against Jurgen Klopp’s man was not enough to put their fears behind. Some key players seem exhausted. Others, such as Marcelo Brozovic and Stefan de Virj are injured.
The Croat still hopes to be available against Fiorentina, knowing that Inter collected just one point in the only two games played without him in Serie A this season, against Sassuolo and Torino. De Vrij will likely return after the international break when the Nerazzurri have another tough task against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium.
It won’t be easy, but what Inter need are more performances similar to the one at Anfield. Inzaghi did not sit back and wait to counter Liverpool’s press. Instead, he went toe to toe with the English and won the game, even coping with Alexis being sent off. Had this not been the case, then, who knows. Inter will have to learn for next season that ill-discipline costs you dearly at the elite level, but it is already in the past. The performance drew high praise from the British media and many of the Liverpool staff and squad.
The match against Torino was very different. Inter were lucky to get away with a point thanks to a late equaliser of Alexis Sanchez and a missed penalty call for the Granata in the first half when Ivan Juric’s side were already leading 1-0. Inter looked exhausted and seemed to have run short of ideas in the final third. It’s understandable also because they missed their two main playmakers, the already mentioned Brozovic and De Vrij. During the summer transfer window, one of the targets will be to find a valuable replacement for the Croat who signed a contract extension with the club this week.
While winning the title will be tough this season, it is not outside of Inter’s capabilities. Regardless of injuries to some key payers, they still have good squad depth and Lautaro is scoring again., although Inter will need more and more. His goal against Liverpool was of the highest quality. The fact that Inter are out of the Champions League is disappointing, but it came in an honourable manner and they now do not have to deal with the rigours of European fixtures. Unfortunately for them and Italian football, only Atalanta and Roma, who are no longer in the race for the title, can say the same. There is a clear run to the end of the season with Juventus and the Giallorossi, the only two teams in the top six left to play.
This is why an Inter team with renewed confidence could perhaps be a dangerous prospect. However, they will need to heed a warning from the very recent past. They will have to make sure that they don’t slip up against the ‘lesser’ teams and be clinical as they were against Salernitana. They need no fear in the teams in the top six as they have proved they can go toe to toe with the best. Finally, Inter must trust the squad as many players have proved that they perform when they are called upon. Their fate is no longer in their hands and neither Milan nor Napoli will win all of their final nine games. The path to Scudetto is undoubtedly more complicated than two months but is still a feasible journey.
@RichHall80
Inters’ mental, and maybe also physical exhaustion is their worst enemy right now.
I had said all the high praises from the first half of the season were premature and warned against celebrating with the tough run of fixtures in January and February to come, most of which were only 3 or 4 days apart from each other. Bear in mind Inter only earned 6pts from 12 in their pre-Xmas fixtures against Milan, Napoli, Atalanta and Juve with all 4 games played at the San Siro – add the game against Milan last month that’s just 6pts from 15 at home. Last season they got 12pts in these home games. When you can’t take points off your direct rivals, your chance of winning the league significantly drops.