Winning End To 2020

Inter ended 2020 with a 2-1 win over Hellas Verona at the Stadio Bentegodi. We had dropped two points here on the 10th  of July, more crucial points dropped in our quest for the Scudetto last season.


Disjointed First Half Attacks

We dominated the game against Hellas Verona from the start. There was greater urgency in our play but unfortunately, it broke down in the final third. We broke away from our traditional 3-5-2 to play with a 3-4-3 but the combination between Ivan Perisic, Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku up front was disjointed. In defence, it was a case of men against boys as Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni comfortably dealt with the threat of Verona’s young forwards. Our young forward, Eddie Salcedo, on loan at Verona couldn’t get a look in against de Vrij. Despite the dominance, the game’s best chance actually fell to the home side. Another Inter loanee, Federico Dimarco forced Samir Handanovic to pull off a great stop to prevent us from going one goal down.

Unlikely Winner

After a toothless display in the first half, we were a lot better in our attacks in the second half. Lautaro Martinez had a moment of brilliance to turn in a cross from Achraf Hakimi on the volley. After taking the lead, we made an inexplicable mistake. A cross by ex-Inter youth product, Davide Faraoni was parried by Handanovic and Skiriniar was not quick enough to clear the danger. Young Ivan Ilic was on hand to stab home a sickening equaliser. A goal scored against the run of play. Our response to that was impressive. Instead of crumbling, we doubled down the efforts and pushed hard to retake the lead. Hakimi was especially impressive taking on Dimarco at every opportunity he got. We were rewarded when Skriniar rose high to head home a corner from Marcelo Brozovic.

Good Run Of Form In Serie A

This win made it seven wins in a row for us ahead of the winter break. A common theme in the seven wins has been greater solidity in our defence. However, our attacking play has been less flamboyant and open compared to the start of the season. That has got to do with the starting position of our defence. Instead of playing a high line, we are now sitting deeper. Teams have also got wiser on our usage of Romelu Lukaku. The goals from the big Belgian striker have not dried up but his overall play has not been as good. His combination with Martinez has also been incoherent. Martinez last scored against Torino almost a month ago which indicates his own drop in form. In this run, the form of our defenders, Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic, the spine of the team has been vital. Long may it continue. May the squad get stronger as well over the January transfer window. No two ways about it, it is make or break for Antonio Conte in Serie A.



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