Strong Response From The Champions

If this morning’s Fiorentina vs Inter was played at the back end of the season, it would bode well for Inter in terms of their quest of retaining the Scudetto and adding a second star to their crest. Nevertheless, it was a strong response from a poor first-half. Over the seasons, we have seen Juventus respond in similar clinical and strong fashion when they are losing or not playing well. I have just looked on in envy and respect but this morning, my team showed similar resolve and quality and I feel proud.

Off The Pace In The First Half

Inter was struggling to get to grips with Fiorentina in the first-half. Fiorentina pressed us aggressively high up the pitch, they were sharp, moved well with pace and passed the ball quickly. The tactic of pressing us high so that we are not able to build moves from the back and our midfielders don’t have time on the ball was used with varied success previously by Hellas Verona and Sampdoria as well. The pace of our game played into Fiorentina’s strategy as we were too slow in possession. Our captain and goalkeeper, Samir Handanovic has been heavily criticised for making mistakes or not moving enough to save shots but he was immense in keeping the score down as we could have been easily 2 or 3-nil down in the first half. Milan Skriniar has had some immense games recently but was off his game in the first half as was Stefan de Vrij. It was hard to name one Inter player that played well in the first half.

Strong Second Half Response

The second half started in similar fashion but there were signs that we were growing in the game from the last 10 minutes of the first half. We were passing the ball faster with one-touch passes and better movement. I had thought we would make at least one change at half-time to introduce more pace in the team but Simone Inzaghi resisted. He finally relented and was about to bring on the pace of Denzel Dumfries and Alexis Sanchez when Matteo Darmian completed a good team move to score our equaliser. Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner deliveries were awful in the first half and he got it right for our second goal. His performance like the rest of the team improved in the second half. The second goal we scored through Edin Dzeko was crucial as it allowed us to control the game and take the sting out of the game. After that, we could have scored more but we squandered chances before finally scoring the third with 3 minutes to go.

Long Term Solution Needed For High Press

Overall, a very strong response but we need to find a solution to being pressed high and we need to start games with a higher tempo. Next one will be another tough one; Atalanta at home, another team that will offer similar challenges to Fiorentina.