Inter, Lautaro is second only to Haaland in 2023

At the moment seven of them have signed up for Luna Park Inter, but they have time throughout the season to be able to leave their names at the register. Meanwhile, Simone Inzaghi’s team seems to have returned to the bubbly steamroller seen in the first season under the guidance of the former Lazio coach: Inter entertains and enjoys themselves, builds a lot and – inevitably – is now once again the best attack in Serie A Nineteen goals scored in the first seven days and seven different scorers. The new captain Lautaro has not forgotten his beautiful and good habits and indeed travels at phenomenal speed: already nine goals in the championship, triple compared to the first seven days of last year. Behind Toro there are the usual Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dumfries and the new Thuram at 2, then at one Dimarco and Frattesi, another new entry with a habit of scoring. While waiting for a sharp shot to arrive from a central defense or for Barella to be able to break free in the goal area, Inzaghi enjoys his factory of goals and spectacle: sparkling in front and almost insurmountable at the back (best defense of the tournament and of Europe, with just three goals scored). And today he challenges the second best defense in Italy and Europe.

the secrets

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There is a common thread in Inzaghi’s management: his Inter attack the opponent’s area through ball possession and exploiting width, with the wingers often decisive in finishing the action. From fifth to fifth, in Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 Dumfries and Dimarco are called to overtime but know how to make the difference like few others. Simone breaks through on the flanks but then closes the action with six players in the opposing area: difficult to trap Inter, who have the quality to attack with fast ball-on-the-ground phrasing but also taking advantage of the physicality of the attackers. Thuram is proving to be an ideal partner for Lautaro, who in this super 2023 is second only to Haaland in the ranking of the most decisive players in terms of goals and assists: Toro is at 37 (30 goals, 4 winning passes), the City phenomenon at 41 (33 plus 8).

more tracks than foil

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Bologna (who will have 3,000 fans following them at San Siro today) have achieved 4 clean sheets in a row: after three consecutive 0-0s, the 3-0 against Empoli arrived, scored – but not only – by Orsolini. Because behind the rampaging Bear there is a team that uses the foil tracks more than last year, perhaps less “cheerful” but certainly more sober and which – right behind Inter – has become the second best defense of Europe on matchday seven, 4 goals conceded (by Milan, Juve and Cagliari) like Nice. A team that today knows how to shape itself, and modulate itself, even around the opponent. Thiago arrived at today’s more concrete system by looking the market in the eye: if last season he looked a little more for pleasantness, this year he pays more attention to the point but releasing greater offensive brilliance. Everything has changed precisely with the change in the men available: the quality (and versatility: Zirkzee plays the “nine and a half” and now Saelemaekers is also available) of the offensive 3+1 has increased and the dribbling technique after the sales of Schouten and Dominguez. In short, other paths to follow, more compactness and less beauty «and I love the defensive phase – said Motta -, because everyone works to defend their home». Now the second best defense has a problem: it has 3 of the 4 players who should be the main ones out (Posch, Lucumi and Kristiansen) but “I’m not worried at all”. The answer today should be – from the right – De Silvestri (8th different captain in sequence), Beukema (who didn’t miss 1′), Calafiori (reborn as a central defender who is also credible in his approach) and Lykogiannis, brought back. It’s easy to say that Bologna just wants to prove solid also to forget the two 6-1s in a row they took in their last two appearances at San Siro against Inter. It fits, but Motta certainly didn’t show the team that 1-6 finish last year. He brought current events forward. To resist Lautaro you can also look to Sommer, whose three national teammates (Aebischer, Ndoye and Freuler) will want to play a Swiss joke. Today the Bologna has the feel of a massif, of a “Tanque”: tracks, a lower center of gravity but with more varied artillery. If that’s enough, we’ll see.