Inter, restart in spring: Inzaghi’s recipe

This is not the time for trials. This is not the time to go after results alone. Simone Inzaghi is disappointed by the draw at Sampdoria because Ferraris’ 0-0 ended a streak of three consecutive victories, including the Italian Cup. He knows that on a mental level against the medium-sized ones his team is missing something and that to aim high it is not permissible to leave 7 points on the street at the crossroads with Monza, Empoli and Sampdoria. At the same time, however, the Inter coach cannot lose his bearings and allow himself to be weighed down by pessimism. Ditto the training of him. The password is to maintain lucidity. It is necessary to improve, to demand more nastiness, cynicism and pragmatism from the group, but without forgetting that in Genoa there were 25 shots towards the opposing goal and that the victory would not have been… a theft. The message that Inzaghi will deliver to the locker room before starting to prepare for Saturday’s match against Udinese will be to avoid alarmism in a delicate period of the season: results are the guiding star of every formation, but in managing crucial moments for the coaches other things matter too. Such as for example the goals created and the data relating to physical fitness.

ANALYSES

—

Inzaghi knows that Inter have not won against the penultimate in the standings and that they have thrown away a great opportunity to extend their direct competitors to +5 for a place in the 2023-24 Champions League. However, his players have had many goals, many of which he built relying on Lukaku or following the tactical plan on which Lautaro and his teammates worked at Pinetina during the week. The Belgian, as happened at the start of the second half in the Coppa Italia against Atalanta, is changing Inter’s way of playing and will make them more difficult to counter when his athletic condition allows him to attack depth and rediscover his speed cue . It’s not long now to get a “lethal” weapon back. Having said that, in Genoa the Nerazzurri had to win even without the best Big Rom. Because Sampdoria, despite recovering from two weeks ago, were an opponent within reach. The opportunities, with Lautaro, Calhanoglu, Dimarco and others, arrived, but the aim was lacking. This is why the watchword is to avoid alarms and scaremongering. The weekly work must remain the certainty for the group.

LEG, BROZO AND FUTURE

—

The data relating to the physical strength of the team are encouraging and in the final, when Sampdoria withdrew the center of gravity, Inter had the strength to try until the last second of recovery, almost taking the lead with Calhanoglu, Acerbi and Lautaro. Furthermore, from Saturday, Brozovic and Dumfries will also (in all likelihood) be starting again. Marcelo will allow Calhanoglu, a splendid playmaker in recent months, to return to playing midfielder and the team will acquire more offensive danger. Because, let’s not forget, the last 5 league goals all bear the signature of Lautaro Martinez. It is essential that Lukaku find the way to score (in Serie A he has been fasting for 6 months) and that Dzeko continues to do his duty, but it is also vital to identify alternative markers. Like Barella, who has been out since the end of October, and like the Turkish player, who beat the opposing goalkeeper 8 times between Serie A and the Italian Cup last season. The year has entered a key moment and, even if the Scudetto race is closed by -15 compared to Napoli, qualification for the next Champions League still needs to be achieved, a minimum goal set by the club in the summer, there is still room to play ( in April) the two semi-finals of the Coppa Italia against Juventus, while the eighth leg of the Champions League against Porto is scheduled for next week. Inter have many important appointments and Inzaghi wants the team to face them with the right approach and rediscover the concreteness lost in this beginning of 2023 with few goals scored and many missed chances. Everyone, including the coach, is playing a lot from here on out, but from 3 June onwards the verdicts will be given by the managers based on the results.