Inter missed the opportunity to go top of the Serie A table thanks to Torino doing their homework at San Siro.
Words: Elio Salerno
San Siro was packed with 71,000 fans for this lunch time kick-off in Serie A, and the vast majority turned up hoping to see the home team move top of the table before this afternoon’s games.
Inter missed the opportunity to go top of the Serie A table thanks to Torino doing their homework at San Siro.
Words: Elio Salerno
San Siro was packed with 71,000 fans for this lunch time kick-off in Serie A, and the vast majority turned up hoping to see the home team move top of the table before this afternoon’s games.
The form guide pointed to a home win: Inter came into this off the back of their best ever start to a Serie A season, collecting 29 points from the first 33 available to them. Meanwhile, the visitors Torino ended the crisis with a confidence-boosting win at home to Cagliari last week.
So, what were the key factors in this game?
Inter cross their way to goal
The Nerazzurri focused most of their attacking play through wide areas, with both Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic featuring heavily throughout the game. Inter attempted close to 30 crosses over 90 minutes, with Candreva and Perisic responsible for well over half of them.
It was certainly Inter’s most dangerous weapon, used mainly to create chances for striker Mauro Icardi, but it was at times predictable. Ultimately their patience in playing this way paid off, while it was not Icardi that got the goal, but rather his clever touch from a Perisic cross set up the easiest of finishes for super sub Eder.
Inter will need to add more variety to their game as the season progresses, because teams will quickly look to restrict this way of attacking.
Mihajlovic does his homework, as Toro impress
Torino were more than deserving of the point they picked up from this game, as both the players and Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic executed a well-thought-out plan to frustrate the hosts. A feature of Inter’s game this season has been their ability to play forward quickly from defence, particularly via centre-back pairing Milan Skriniar and Joao Miranda. Recognising this, Torino adopted a high press for most of the game and did this particularly well in the first half.
Whenever either Inter centre-back picked up the ball, Torino locked on to Inter’s midfield players, aggressively pressing any attempt at vertical passes in to them. This often resulted in the turnover of possession and allowed Torino to gain the ball in good areas of the pitch. As the game wore on, we saw Inter ‘keeper Samir Handanovic start to play longer when he had the ball. Torino were brave both with and without the ball, so they will be pleased with the point they have taken from San Siro.
Skriniar and Rincon stand out
The form of young Inter defender Milan Skriniar has been well noted since the start of the season, and the Slovakian put in another dominant display. Winning four tackles, four aerial duals, completing 88% of his attempted passes while also coming close to finding the net on two different occasions. The defender is already a pivotal player in this side and a growing fan favourite amongst the Inter faithful.
Meanwhile Torino general Tomas Rincon put in the kind of energetic display we saw from him in his Genoa days, as the Venezuelan broke up play and worked tireless across the pitch all game. He frustrated Borja Valero, in so doing neutralising Inter’s main creative centre.
Racking up good numbers defensively, he completed three successful tackles alongside four clearances, two interceptions and one blocked shot for good measure. Offering his team defensive cover in midfield is expected of Rincon, but he was also able to complete 84% of the 46 passes he attempted too.
Overview
In an enjoyable and intense early kick-off, both teams will have been happy to come out with a point in the end. Torino will take a huge boost in confidence with the way they went about this game, asking a lot of questions of this in form Inter. Toro fans will know be hoping they can find consistency in their performances with Andrea Belotti coming back to full fitness.
For Inter, a point is not what they would have wanted before the game, but after going a goal down in the second half, they responded positively to get themselves a point. Inter will need to retain this strong mentality throughout the season to stay in the fight for a top spot.