Everyone seems to be focused on Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten run with Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid reassembling the Galacticos, and the three-horse Premier League race between Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool. It has almost gone under the radar how Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan has run away with the Serie A and their amazing form.
The Nerazzuri are sitting at the top of the Serie A table with 75 points accumulated from 28 games. They’re 16 points clear of second-placed AC Milan who has 59 points. Inter Milan have won 24 out of the 28 games they’ve played, drawn three, and lost only one. They scored 75 goals and conceded only 13 to have a goal difference of 57. For context, the next highest goal difference in the league is Juventus with 21. It’s safe to say they are absolutely dominating the league and will probably win the Scudetto a bit early with a wide margin this season.
Despite losing top players last season and losing the Champions League final to Man City, Inter Milan appear to have come back stronger and are now in incredible form. They’re bulldozing their way to the Scudetto and even in Europe, their performances show that they’re not to be underrated. They finished second in the group stage tied on points with Group Leaders Real Sociedad with 12 points. They won three and drew three matches in the group stage. The Nerazzuri have already won a trophy this season after defeating Napoli 1-0 at the Supercopa Italiana final.
How did they bounce back from last season?
Simone Inzaghi
Surprisingly they seem to have gotten better even after losing key members of the team that made it to the Champions League final like goalkeeper Andre Onana, Edin Dzeko, Milan Skriniar, Marcelo Brozovic, and Romelu Lukaku. Inzaghi’s Inter has somehow managed to come out stronger thanks to brilliant transfers and tactical adjustments. The players they have brought in have more than filled the vacuum created by the players who left the club. They signed goalkeeper Yan Sommer and Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich as well as Marcus Thuram from Borussia Monchengladbach on a free transfer and he has been immense for them this season. Yan Sommer has presently kept 26 clean sheets this season; a massive performance and a testament to their defensive solidity while Thuram has hit double digits in both goals and assists for the Italian club this season.
Marcus Thuram
Inzaghi has them playing like a well-oiled machine with seemingly very little deficiency in their game. They have a clinical attack and a talented midfield that can get the ball forward and make important passes all the while having the best defence in world football at the moment. The balance in their team shows in their results as they have scored the most goals, created the most chances, and conceded the least amount of goals in the Serie A, far above any other Serie A team.
Brief Tactical Overview
Inzaghi favors a 3-5-2 formation that allows a rare combination of two pure 9s up front in Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez who have become a consistent source of goals and assists for the Nerazzuri. The wingbacks of Dimarco and Darmian usually join the attack to overload the opponent’s box.
The midfield of Çalhanoglu, Barella, and Mkhitaryan covers a lot of ground as they press effectively while providing cover for the Back five in a defensive position.
The most distinctive part of Inzaghi’s system is the overlapping center backs. Often Bastoni and Pavard join the attack and thread line-breaking passes to the attackers. The CBs are very involved in the game.
Given the loss of important players and last year’s Champions League disappointment, being able to play this well is a credit to the coach Simone Inzaghi who in my opinion is the pin that holds this team together.
What do you think of Inter Milan this season?