There are two crucial recurring themes in Inter’s season that explain why they have fallen 18 points behind Serie A leaders Napoli.
The Nerazzurri were beaten 1-0 by Bologna at the Stadio Dall’Ara in the Sunday early kick-off, decided by a Riccardo Orsolini chest and half-volley.
It was only the latest in a long run of setbacks in 2023 that showed a certain difficulty for Simone Inzaghi to either keep his men motivated or rotate the squad effectively without losing quality.
They followed the 1-0 win over Napoli with a 2-2 draw away to newly-promoted Monza.
The 3-0 triumph over Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana gave way to a 1-0 home defeat to Empoli in Serie A.
Another Derby della Madonnina win over Milan was followed by a goalless stalemate at Sampdoria.
Now the Champions League 1-0 result against FC Porto was followed by a 1-0 defeat at the Stadio Dall’Ara.
This all comes to 12 potential points for Inter in games after the big tests, and they picked up only two points.
The other major issue for Inter this season is their record away from San Siro in Serie A, as on home turf they picked up 10 wins and two defeats, scoring 25 goals and conceding only six.
On their travels, the same team scraped just five wins, two draws and five losses, scoring 19 and conceding 22.