Is Inter glass half empty or half full after Bologna draw?
- Richard Hall
If you were distracted after the first three minutes of this game you would have settled back down to a game you didn’t recognise. Inter came out of the blocks quickly and looked immediately dangerous thanks to Antonio Candreva as he whipped in some early balls. When the ball eventually ended up in the midfield the game changed as Bologna pressed with alarming pace and purpose.
When Spalletti sits down with his team, he will no doubt point out that it was this pressing that stopped Inter using the channels and instead made them try and play through the middle. This is where Roberto Donadoni wanted them to be and they fell inti the trap. Candreva and Ivan Perisic were isolated and Joao Mario, the man who perhaps could make something happen through the middle was unfortunately anonymous. The Inter ‘mister’ said after the game that his team tend to ‘lower the intensity levels’ against certain (weaker) opposition. This is true as it means that they can play at their pace and it turn the quality should shine through but the aggression of Bologna was too much and inevitably they struggled to maintain the ball.
The team did eventually come back to draw after a contested penalty was converted by the lethal Mauro Icardi but they arguably should not have gone down in the first place. Alarmingly for the Nerazzurri they were susceptible to Bologna’s balls straight down the middle and this was something that was uncharacteristic of this team so far this term. Once again Samir Handanovic, like on the weekend, was called into action, something all to reminiscent of seasons passed, it is this that will be the major concern that will float next to the intensity issue.
Inter may have been sluggish against Bologna, maybe this was evident from the weekend as they left it late to beat Crotone. The team should be fresher however, as they do not suffer from European exertions so is it a lack of depth? With the full back positions and midfield bolstered it is hard to see that the problem is here and arguably the only areas that are a little short is up front (who replaces Icardi) the center backs (is there the quality on the bench) but perhaps more obvious are the wingers (Candreva and Perisic are too crucial). Despite Spalletti saying that the team likes to slow the game to their pace this does not mean it’s a slow one, on the contrary it is high tempo but it is composed and it was composure the team missed again last night.
Intensity and composure, if missing, obviously result in a lack of quality and without Europe the squad should be able to cope. Therefore, there was (despite all these issues) a reason for Inter to be happy with the draw. They had showed character to come back from a goal down, they had drawn a game they would arguably have lost last season, they had tactically seen a problem and read adjusted early, something that Spalletti is an expert at. These positives are certainly as valuable if not more so, than the negatives that can be worked on at the training field.
Inter host Genoa this weekend and need to prove to themselves that they can get the momentum back by beating the Grifone and then Benevento the following week. Milan and Napoli follow and it is against these teams that they will be truly measured. The next two weeks are about marginal gains and putting to bed the errors that have allowed the tempo of the game to get away from them. If they can do this then they will continue to look dangerous in the coming months.
@RichHall80