After their final two league matches of the season, Inter will be prepare for their biggest game in over a decade as they travel to Istanbul to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the final of the Champions League, but what does Simone Inzaghi and his team need to do to avoid defeat at the hands of a team many consider to be the best in the world?
La Gazzetta dello Sport has identified three areas that the Nerazzurri need to improve on as well as three that they need to continue capitalising on if they are to come away with a positive outcome in the final on June 10.
The Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina was telling for a number of reasons. Inter were victorious thanks to a first-half brace from Lautaro Martinez, however it was not without falling behind to a third minute strike from La Viola’s Nicolas Gonzalez.
A slow start against City must be avoided at all costs given their track record of going ahead early in games throughout the 2022-23 season.
Over the course of the year, City have found the net in the third minute against Fulham, in the seventh minute against Copenhagen, in the opening sixty seconds against Wolves, in the fifth minute against Newcastle and in the seventh against Arsenal.
In the Coppa Italia final, Inter allowed Fiorentina six direct shots at Samir Handanovic’s net, from which they fortunately only conceded once. With the likes of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez at City’s disposal, they will need to keep the number of shots on target down to a minimum if they are to stay in the game.
La Gazzetta also highlighted how Inter will not be able to afford to give City any time or freedom in the half-spaces, areas in which Guardiola’s men tend to be the most ruthless.
Inzaghi will need to ensure that the gaps between the wing-backs and central defenders, namely between Denzel Dumfries and Matteo Darmian and likely Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco are well covered.
In terms of the positives of the Coppa Italia final, Inter showed that they were able to keep the intensity up for the entirety of the game, something they will need to repeat in the Champions League if they are to inflict defeat upon City.
The substitutions from Inzaghi were well-timed and effective and gave Inter a welcomed boost just at the right moments. This will need to be the case again in June.
Inter will also need to continue timing their attacks to perfection, as they did particularly well in the second part of the first half against Fiorentina.
And finally, if there is one player Inter should be aiming to provide for, it is the influential Lautaro Martinez. Whilst the world focuses on Haaland, Inter have a prolific goalscorer on their hands, too and, with a World Cup winner’s medal already in his collection, El Toro has big game experience and a tendency to crop up with goals when Inter need it the most.