Even when Lautaro has a normal, human abstinence from scoring, Inter find alternative solutions to accompany the ship to port. Not only Thuram, Toro’s Siamese twin and increasingly centre-forward, but also others from the award-winning Nerazzurri team know how to become useful for this purpose. Thus, if it is true that Simone Inzaghi’s attack has so far been monopolized by the ThuLa, never before had the contribution of defenders on leave been needed as much as the Olimpico. In Simone’s fluid system the central defender is always dangerous, both in maneuvered actions (see Pavard’s Garibaldian position on Gatti’s own goal against Juve) and in dead balls, as in the case of Acerbi’s 0-1 last night. But even in the restarts: the liberating 2-4 was scored by Bastoni, a left-wing defender by profession.
Ace to evaluate
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By scoring the second goal of his championship, Acerbi also gave himself a birthday present. It was enough to put your head at the right time and take advantage of the assist from… Lukaku: after the Belgian’s clearance, the bizarre trajectory was born, one of many in the match. The aerial insertion, already transformed into a goal this year with Bologna, is a high specialty of the house: among the defenders who have scored at least 20 goals in the last 10 Serie A seasons, only De Silvestri (42.9%, 9 out of 21) and Bonucci (32%, 8 out of 25) have a better percentage of headed goals than the former Lazio player (31.8%, 7 out of 22). Since joining the Nerazzurri, Simone’s loyalist, just 36 years old, has often had the physical efficiency of a twenty-year-old, but in this second season there have been a few more aches and pains: this time he was forced out due to a stiffened calf right. He will be evaluated between today and tomorrow, Atletico are arriving and he is needed to duel with Morata. Together with him, Alessandro Bastoni returned to the net in Serie A, someone much less accustomed to certain sensations: the last celebration dated back 762 days earlier, on 9 January 2022 against Lazio. The left-footed player, the 14th scorer of this season, enjoys scoring against the Romans, but also had clear thoughts on the emotions at the Olimpico: “In the first half we were unwatchable, it wasn’t us, we took the field badly and they ‘eaten’. We had the switch there more than in tactics.” A question of the mind, the one that will be needed against Atletico in the Champions League.