Inter Rises From Its Slumber

Inter were late to the party but left as the darling of the party. That analogy best describes Inter’s comeback win over Torino.

Lacklustre Start

For 60 minutes, Inter were sterile in possession, lacked intensity, movement and creativity. In every department, we were second best. Looking at how the first half was unfolding, I thought to myself we got to somehow see this game out and eke out a win. But I cannot begrudge Torino for scoring a deserved opener. In keeping with our first half, Alexis Sanchez lost the ball in our half and Torino capitalised to punish us. I must point out the beautiful assist by Soualiho Meite to free Simone Zaza for Torino’s goal.

I had thought after that first-half performance and going 1-0 down, Antonio Conte would get stuck into the players in the dressing room and that would wake them up for the second half. There wasn’t much difference though. Since joining Inter, Ashley Young produced his worst performance. All game, he struggled to cope with the threat of his younger counterpart, Wilfried Singo. This time, his duel proved costly. It appeared that he got away with some contact on him but VAR pulled him up for it. Without sounding bias, I felt that Young got a touch of the ball but it turned out that he axed his opponent. Ex-Inter player, Christian Ansaldi made no mistake from the penalty spot to extend Torino’s lead. We had to come from 0-2 down again for the second successive home league game to get anything out of the game.

Conte’s Substitutions

Inter fans have expressed frustration at Antonio Conte’s stubbornness in keeping to his favoured formation. But he deserved credit for playing three forwards when he brought on Lautaro Martinez to partner Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. Milan Skriniar’s introduction steadied the right side and gave Achraf Hakimi the freedom and confidence to bomb forward. I felt Sanchez was the catalyst for our comeback as he pulled one back and played a part in the equaliser.

After the concession of the Torino’s second goal, the Inter we expected rose from its slumber and roared. The intensity and ferocity we played with were back as we pinned Torino back. At that point, there was only ever going to be one winner as the difference in quality made a difference. If only we had played like this from the start, we would have had a more comfortable night (it was night from where I was watching). Pazza Inter rearing it’s head again.

A Need To Improve Fast

What this game showed if you don’t already know is that our first-choice central defence partnership has to be Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni. Danilo D’Ambrosio is usually reliable and lately, Andrea Ranocchia has not done too badly but both were less than convincing. It was scary to think that had Aleksandar Kolarov been fit, he might have played too. If the club’s management is sharp and alert, signing a proper centre back would be a priority as the defence is weaker without Diego Godin.

I have always felt that Inter has lacked an understudy for Marcelo Brozovic which I thought would have been Sandro Tonali but things went the way they did in the transfer window. In Brozovic’s absence, we lacked someone with creativity. Someone to keep the ball ticking by. From our CEO, Beppe Marotta’s pre-match comments it also appears that Christian Eriksen’s time at Inter is numbered which is a pity. I hope both parties find an amicable solution that would be beneficial for both.

Overall, no two ways about it. The team needs to improve if they are serious about winning a trophy and especially the Scudetto. I hope now that the matches are uninterrupted until the Christmas break, we can build some momentum and form.