Six Points Clear But Still Some Tough Challenges Left

The two matches Inter faced after the successive big matches against Lazio and Milan were always going to be a truer test of the team’s title credentials. Inter being Inter are also known for doing well in big matches and making a mess of simpler ones.

Inter vs Genoa

We played against Genoa at San Siro first. Genoa was going into the game in good form but had more than an eye on their derby against Sampdoria in midweek. The starting line-up they put out would give us the confidence of winning this match but you never know in football, more so for Inter. You can never take anything for granted. We got off to a great start, Romelu Lukaku scoring with just 32 seconds on the clock. That seemed to lull us into a false sense of security as our play got a bit careless but we were unpunished. We got hold of ourselves again and started creating chances but could only go into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the longer it was 1-0, the greater the danger of Genoa getting back into the game. Thankfully, we scored the second and added a third within 8 minutes. Matteo Darmian scored a rare goal and Alexis Sanchez scored Inter’s third within minutes of coming on as a substitute. Overall, a dominant 3-0 win, well deserved.

Parma vs Inter

After Genoa, we played against Parma at Ennio Tardini yesterday. Parma might be struggling in second-bottom but they always find a way to make things hard for us. They did just that. They were trying to stretch play, playing some good football. Our saving grace is that our regular tormentor, Gervinho was absent. They did fashion a good chance that was well-saved by Samir Handanovic as we struggled to get going. Parma was more aggressive and used their physicality well. This was exactly the kind of game that if we are serious about becoming champions, we needed to emerge with a result. With a stroke of luck, the ball broke for Alexis Sanchez and his shot just about bounced on the correct side of the line to give us the lead. Lukaku who was largely well-shackled then got the space to burst into. He did that and set up Sanchez and Inter’s second. Parma pulled one back through Hernani with 19 minutes left but we held on without facing any real threat on our goal.

Atalanta Next

Two wins out of two to give us a 6 points lead over Milan but the season is far from over. There are still some tough matches left to be played and the next one against Atalanta will be one of the tough ones. There would be some hidden dangers in the remaining matches as well that we need to navigate. Let’s take it one game at a time. The memory of 2001-02 of how we let a commanding position slip on the final day is still fresh. We might have won a few titles post-2006 but 2002 is still the one who’s wound is still open.