Spalletti's Inter, the collective extra mile
Tempo has been an issue for Inter in many games this season. Crotone, Genoa, Benevento, Bologna and the last thirty minutes against Sampdoria, have either seen Luciano Spalletti’s men play to the tune of their opponents or simply not inject enough pace themselves. After the first five minutes against Hellas it seemed as though Inter were ready to take the game to Fabio Pecchia’s side but the Veronese soon managed to start playing an expansive game and this started to present problems for Inter. They immediately struggled initially in getting enough men behind the ball quickly and then came the mistakes.
It is not unusual for those who follow the Nerazzurri to see them make errors when under pressure and this was the same story in Verona. Milan Skriniar, ever dependable didn’t listen to the shout of his goalkeeper, Joao Miranda started to misplace passes, Yuto Nagatomo, so impressive in recent weeks was taught a lesson by Romulo on more than one occasion and even Ivan Perisic was none existent. Despite this there was a resilience to their play and after going a goal up they did calm down, get men behind the ball and look to counter attack. This was until Samir Handanovic made the biggest mistake of the game, conceding a penalty thank to the always watching VAR.
In years gone by these sort of errors and lapses in concentration have seen Inter end the game with their head in their hands, yet once again they managed to come out victorious. Whilst many have declared Juventus are ruthless and pragmatic, Napoli, beautiful and cavalier and Roma disciplined and improving, the Milanese have been accused of being lucky. Spalletti’s reply to his team’s performances on these types of games has always been the same. He thinks that they play well when after they have made errors they have the mental fortitude to show their mental strength and still get results.
This collective work ethic was shown again on Monday night and the Captain led by example. The Argentine striker, often accused of simply patrolling the opposition box, dropped deep to start the play and break it up. His defensive contribution was noted by the coach as he said after the match that
“In my opinion he played a very good game, people consider his games based on goals but when he dropped deep and played with the whole team he offered a big advantage for us. He’s crucial even in scrappy games.”
It was not just Icardi who was determined to take the utilitarian approach as the entire squad pressed, harried and continued to break, never letting their heads down despite not everything going to plan. Borja Valero was influential in keeping possession and starting many of the attacks down the right-hand side. His work with Antonio Candreva eventually saw him get on the end of the aforementioned man’s cross to get his goal. Candreva himself was excellent and throughout the starting eleven, even those like Nagatomo, who had made earlier mistakes eventually stepped up and put in stellar and resilient performances.
Looking back over this first quarter if the season Spalletti has a right to be pleased. After eleven games Inter have win nine and drawn only twice, this against Bologna and Napoli. They are second in the table and (along with Napoli) have conceded eight goals, only Roma, who have played one less have conceded fewer with five. Whilst they have much to improve, they can take solace that this collective will to improve, this determination to grind out results and the mind set to overcome individual mistakes is as strong as it has been in seven years. Even when noting was going right for Perisic and most players confidence would have been shot, he hit an incredible strike that threatened to break the Hellas net showing that you make your own luck.
Words Richard Hall (@RichaHall80)