Clinical Inter Goes Top
After Juventus and Milan’s defeats on Saturday, Inter fans were immediately sceptical at our chances of beating Lazio and going to the top of Serie A. Such has been the deception suffered by fans that they were suspicious of their team’s chances to capitalise on the failings of our rivals.
For a change, Inter didn’t disappoint. They beat Lazio 3-1
to go to the top of Serie A ahead of one of the most eagerly anticipated Milan
derbies of the last decade. It is possibly THE most highly-charged Milan derby
of the decade but before that, let’s look at the encounter against Lazio.
Superior Start By Lazio
Lazio had a week to prepare for this match while we had a
tense Coppa Italia semi-final, second leg against Juventus to contend with. The
Biancocelesti was also going into this match extremely confident having won 6
games in a row and that confidence was seen on the pitch. They were passing the
ball about well, pressing us back, trying to find a way past our defence. I
felt we could be in for a long night if we didn’t get control of the ball and
the match.
Clinical Inter
I always believe goals change games and so many times we
have seen how not scoring has cost us games. It even cost us qualification out
of the group stage of the Champions League. In tough and tight matches such as
this, details can change a game. A good move sprung Lautaro Martinez clear and
in trying to tackle to win the ball, Wesley Hoedt gave away a penalty. You can
feel some sympathy for the big Dutch defender because it looked like he had won
the ball fairly. The decision stayed the same after reviewing it on VAR and that
is because Hoedt’s right leg went through Martinez’s right leg before he got
the ball. A slice of luck as it went against the run of play, Romelu Lukaku
stepped up to give us the lead. Lukaku’s second goal was also reviewed on VAR
but far less controversy on that as he was onside and that killed off Lazio.
Perfect Defensive Performance
I felt defensively we were perfect. Every single player in
the defensive phase didn’t put a foot wrong with Milan Skriniar the standout
defender. Ivan Perisic was another that had a standout game on the left flank.
It has been a problem flank for us this season but he did very well defending
against the speedy and dangerous, Manuel Lazzari. Christian Eriksen made a rare
start in the absence of Arturo Vidal and he had the best game I have seen him
play for us. He was neat and tidy on the ball, moving forward to join the
attack and defensively sound. Inter had a lot of defending to do either by
design or by default so we handled that phase very well.
Deserved Win
By inviting pressure on us, it allowed us to counter-attack
and we were devastating with space to go forward. We made our chances count.
Lautaro Martinez was sharp in his movement and not wasteful in possession. He
was rewarded with a goal that killed the game off completely after Lazio made
it 1-2 with a huge deflection. Lukaku scored twice after a lean spell of form
and he too looked back to his best. One would say that the scoreline flattered
us because we defended so much. Lazio hardly posed a threat at our goal despite
all their possession and good play. We were dangerous when we attacked and
could have scored more so we fully deserved this win.
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