In his regular weekly column Inter fanatic Sam Olsen dives deep into the stories that matter to Inter’s fans looking to keep the spirit of discussion alive and well on the pages of Sempreinter.com.

After five fun filled Serie A weeks Inter stood like a colossus at the top of the pile, admired by those below, most notably their Milanese neighbours who had been one of their victims and the perennial title favourites from Turin who were struggling to register a clean point. The fifteen points achieved told the story of an unbeaten run, a team rejuvenated after years of pitiless stagnation, while the single goal conceded revealed a renewed belief in the robust, impenetrable defence that had seen them gather outstanding successes in years gone by.

The goals scored and goal difference columns revealed still another curiosity. From five games, six goals for a goal difference of five. Five games, six goals, five goal difference. The numbers reveal a team not blowing opposition out of the water but slowly squeezing the life out of them with inexorable pressure. A team capable of protecting its territory while doing enough in their opposition’s to creep over the line.

There is nothing wrong with this. At the end of the season no one will care if their team wins every match by a single goal, walls will not fall and the Red Sea will not surge up as if angered by a lack of ‘beautiful football’. Fans will be happy and the trophy will stand polished and proudly in the cabinet for eager beavers to take photos next to.

Problems arise when the plan, for whatever reason, perhaps injury to key players, a sudden lack of focus or simply an off day, goes awry. Is the team who had shown themselves tactically astute and regimented when hunkered down in the bunkers defending their territory or trying to break a deadlock, able to respond when suddenly forced to chase the game? Is the team that had demonstrated as much creative flair as an army of accountants contemplating the finer points of the tax code able to fight back, to change their game and mount a stirring comeback? Against Fiorentina the answer was a resounding no.

Coming back to Earth is never easy they say. And after that Fiorentina match both playing staff and fans alike got a healthy dose of ‘what the f#*k happened there?’. Being thumped 1-4 at home after five straight wins is what most people call an unwelcome wake up call, an ice cold bucket of water being cast over the face of a man struggling with a debilitating hangover if you will. The fact is that it was hardly surprising.

Inter had hardly set Serie A alight in their unbeaten run, stumbling through matches, snatching late winners and creeping over the line. Once Fiorentina decided to make a mockery of Inter’s first half tactics it was always going to be an uphill struggle for a team who was used to doing just enough. Inter’s lack of a true creator was hopelessly exposed as Mancini’s very justified renovation of this Inter squad into a formidable defensive unit came back to haunt him when his team failed to be a formidable defensive unit.

Against Sampdoria, although bouncing back for a very good point away against a team that will be expecting at least Europa League this team, Inter again showed their offensive limits, knocking the ball around the final third but not really threatening, lacking a player who could open up the opposition or offer something different. The issue has been compounded by the return to form of Steven Jovetic’s injury demon who, for a while, was looking like he might have decided to find another poor soul to bother but instead opted to hang to his Montenegrin friend for a little longer. These bonds, after all, can be hard to break.

That left Inter plugging away up front with their Palacio impersonator (I swear I saw the real Palacio holding a wedding ceremony in Vegas last week; looked in good goal-scoring nick too) who, let’s be fair, is barely troubling the commentator let alone the scoreboard this season; Mauro, someone please help me find some space up here, Icardi; Fredy Guarin who despite not being able to pass has offered up some nice moments this season, and new boy Ivan Perisic who is still trying to get used to Italian roads let alone their football. We could also throw in Manaj and ‘Boomerang’ Biabianby, both second half subs against Sampdoria, but the fact that they were the second half subs is probably enough to make my point. The fact is that none of them, or Kondogbia and Melo further back, are true creators, capable of opening space with footwork and off the wall passing.

That is why Mancini needs his current misfit Adem Ljajic to find his feet in this team. The Serbian, although something of a wildcard and not renowned for his tactical or defensive aptitude, does offer Inter an x-factor. Someone who may not follow the script, who will leave defenders in two minds, perhaps even baffled. He is the stereotypical atypical player that Mancini always seems to have in his team. He is like the small voice in the managers mind that says ‘screw all this defensive business, lets have some fun’. Mancini now has to learn when to trust it.

Ljajic will offer Inter some colour in a world of black and white. That is not to say he needs to be on the field at all times, after all black and white works perfectly fine in many occasions, but in a squad built for a certain purpose it is nice to have something different that can be called upon when plan A is not quite working the way it should, or when an opposition defence is failing to yield in the face of the battering ram.

With a Juventus returning from the international break most likely offering a more daunting prospect than those kittens parading around Turin in replica shirts for the season’s opening weeks, Inter will want to ensure that their midfield tanks are prepped, their forward bombers are fuelled and ready to unload, and their defensive wall has been reinforced but also their solitary special forces operative is primed and ready to be injected into action in case the heavy duty units fail to force the breach.

Prediction for derby: Inter to roll their nemisis 3-1 with goals to Icardi, Guarin and Perisic.