Forget next season, Inter boss Stefano Pioli will do well just to see out this season following another humiliating defeat, this time coming at the hands of relegation battlers Crotone. 
 

Hands are on heads in the blue half of Milan as Pioli’s men haven’t won a game since the back to back demolition jobs over Cagliari and Atalanta in March. Things were looking so promising; talk was all about qualification for the Champions League and maybe even the coach being offered a long term deal. Fast forward a month and Inter will be lucky to make the Europa League and Pioli to see out the season. 
 

Quite the extraordinary turn of events and with the derby coming up next, it is absolutely paramount Inter get their act together or else they will miss out of Europe all together. Something that would be considered nothing short of a disaster for all involved with the club. 

 

If Inter have any defence for this result, it’s that Crotone are a side who were coming off an impressive victory and are playing for their Serie A future. Fellow relegation battlers Empoli are in an absolutely dismal run of form and this has obviously sparked the Calabrese into life. Even so, when looking at the disparity in quality between the starting XI's, not many would have given Crotone a hope.

Meanwhile whilst Inter's leading marksman can’t find the back of the net, Crotone’s main man Diego Falcinelli can’t stop scoring and is well and truly on his way to becoming a cult hero in Crotone’s history books should they avoid the drop. 


 

There is currently no individual in the Inter squad showing this sort of heart, desire and determination, leaving many to wonder just what is going on up North. It’s now back to back games that Icardi has been looking completely out of sorts, definitely not what you expect from your captain and leading goal scorer.

Gary Medel looked like he was still in the junior leagues as he gave away a penalty for slipping and handling inside the box, whilst Ever Banega didn’t create anything and was hardly involved. The Argentine nowhere near the player we saw score a brilliant hat trick against Atalanta last month.



 It’s remarkable how much things can change in a month and we now definitely don’t expect Pioli to keep his job past this season, nor do we expect many of the under performing players to be kept by the owners. Fortunately for Inter, despite a season full of ups and downs, managerial changes and their captain going toe to toe with the ultras, they still have a chance to salvage something respectable by beating their most bitter rivals on the 15th to put themselves in a position to make one final charge towards sixth place and thus a spot in the Europa League. 

 

If it wasn’t going to be Inter’s biggest match of the season already, it most definitely is now. Nothing short of victory for Inter is required for them to get back on track and retain any hope of European qualification.  



Ciro Di Baselli