Inter Bounce Back

The vultures started circling around Antonio Conte. The Ultras let their feelings known to the players. Inter was in crisis after the midweek defeat to Real Madrid left us on the brink of elimination from the Champions League group stage for the third season in a row. Inter’s response to that was comprehensive.

Pivotal Tactical Change

I agree with Conte in his post-match comments that results change the opinion of a game. Inter has played well in other games this season but got lesser than we deserve. In terms of result and performance, this was our best performance. Sassuolo were going into this match as one of the three unbeaten teams in the league so far and have been playing very well, carrying a great attacking threat. Tactically, we were impeccable as we nullified the various attacking threats Sassuolo had. A slight tweak to the formation to dispose of the playmaker and revert to a three men central midfield with Nicolo Barella sitting in front of the defence was pivotal.

Aggressive Start

I felt what was essential and that formed as a platform to this victory was the aggression and directness in our attacking play. We took the game to Sassuolo from the start and overwhelmed them, taking a 2-0 lead very quickly in the game. Scoring early and building on it was what we used to do last season. It’s something we have missed this season as we go through matches being profligate and paying the price for it. On that note, we looked dangerous every time we went forward and had we put our foot down to the pedal, we would have sown up the game earlier.

Individual Performances

In terms of individual performances, there wasn’t a player that had a poor game. The central defence partnership of Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni has not played too many matches together this season so it is good to see that they are getting a run of games together. Arturo Vidal put aside some poor recent performances and of letting us down against Real Madrid to produce a good performance on the right of the midfield three. Roberto Gagliardini scored a sumptuous goal to uphold a keen statistic of Inter winning in all the games he has scored in. Matteo Darmian has to be at the moment, the best signing we made this summer. He produced another solid display in the right wing-back position covering both phases very well. Notably, he was instrumental in subduing the dangerous Jeremie Boga. Lautaro Martinez was back to something like his best form. He held up the ball and was sharp in his movements. His strike partner, Alexis Sanchez scored for the second league match in a row, a feat he last achieved in 2017 when he was playing for Arsenal.

Crucial Juncture & Lack Of Creativity

We find ourselves in second place now after our second league win in a row ahead of an absolutely critical Champions League match against Borussia Monchengladbach with destiny out of our hands. Failure to qualify from the Champions League group for the third season in a row is unacceptable for Inter but it is very likely to be a reality. I have noticed as well that we do better in games where we don’t have to break teams down. Goals change games of course and in tight matches like that, we need to be clinical. There is also an apparent lack of creativity from midfield as our gameplay becomes easy to read. A playmaker doesn’t fit into how Conte wants the team to play as is the case in Christian Eriksen. We got to find a solution to this either from within the squad or in the transfer market.