In the league, the nerazzurri have lost 34% of the matches played (10 out of 29), in other competitions only 15% (2 out of 13). The team gives its best when the next round is played, it smells the scent of a trophy or has its back against the wall
It’s a Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde version of Inter who are playing in the league and in other competitions this season. In Serie A, especially from February onwards, the nerazzurri are shy, scared and when they go down, they are unable to come back. In the last four days they have won only one point and, in the standings, they are in free fall. In the Champions League, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, on the other hand, they have the cheek, clear ideas and above all… they get important results. In Europe in particular they have won two of their last three knockout matches and have not conceded a goal in these 270′ plus recoveries. It’s an Inter… beautiful at night, a definition that Avvocato Agnelli had coined for Boniek (at the time the league always played on Sundays at 2.30 or 3 pm; at night only the European cups), but which is also suitable for Inzaghi’s training. Beyond the start time of the match, however, the competition seems to be above all decisive: it is the inside or outside that exalts Brozovic and his companions. The routine of the championship, especially since Napoli has proven to be impregnable, depresses Inter who have sunk to fifth place, even outside the Champions League area. In Europe, however, in the three matches of the knockout phase, the Nerazzurri have not yet seen Onana collect the ball in the back of the net; the same in the Italian Super Cup final won against Milan in Arabia. They look like two different teams and the numbers prove it too.
PERCENTAGE OF DEFEATS
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In the twenty-nine days of Serie A, Inter collected 16 wins, 3 draws and 10 defeats: the percentage of knockouts is 34% or one for every 3 matches played. In the other competitions there are only 2 missteps in 13 matches between the Champions League (9), Coppa Italia (3) and Supercoppa Italiana (1) or 15%. Numbers certainly not the result of chance. It’s as if this team, when it knows it has everything to play for, suddenly plugs in and attention is at its maximum. Does the opponent’s coat of arms have anything to do with it? Don’t small-medium sized businesses in Italy motivate like Barcelona, Porto and Benfica in Europe, like Juventus and Atalanta in the Italian Cup or like Milan in the Super Cup final? Perhaps… The feeling is that this Inter is the opposite of Conte’s formation or a championship diesel who was trembling in the Champions League: Inzaghi’s men are more suited to short-term competitions and struggle to find the right motivations when c It’s “only” qualification for the next Champions League, which is vital for the club’s accounts. It’s as if they have to be cornered to make no mistake. And since in certain competitions, i.e. in national cups and in the top continental trophy, it is forbidden to make mistakes and there is no time to fix it…
SIMON FROM CUP
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Perhaps the team’s DNA is also the result of its coach’s DNA. Inzaghi has 6 trophies on his showcase between the Italian Cups (2) and the Italian Super Cup (4). Not a bad bulletin board for a 47-year-old coach who coached Lazio and Inter. Could he have had a few more titles? He lost the Scudetto last season against a Milan that was inferior on paper and still regrets the outbreak of Covid because Lazio 2019-20, before the stop due to the pandemic, seemed like they could put Juventus behind them. So far, in short, Simone has done better in the cups than in Serie A. The picture is even clearer if we consider the Champions League: in the last three editions he has always passed the group stage and now he is in the quarterfinals for the first time. Indeed, with one foot in the semifinal after the 2-0 of Da Luz. If the critics accuse him of the inability to always make the group perform at its best in the long run, it is impossible not to recognize the ability to make his team play at its best in the big non-Serie A matches. Thanks to the negative results in the league, Inzaghi took off for Lisbon… with the bench even shaky for the present, not just for next season. He responded by conquering a stadium where Juventus had lost and PSG had drawn. Saturday we return to play in the league, at San Siro against Monza, and if we were him, we’d be worried. At least for a few more hours, however, the Piacenza coach will also enjoy the feat with Benfica and will no longer see the ghosts of substitutes hovering over his head. The Inter bench still belongs to him and those who know him assure that he has no intention of having it taken away easily.
April 12, 2023 (change April 12, 2023 | 07:36)
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