Today Inter played Cagliari away from home in a very eye opening game because they showed a lot of dedication with a clear goal in mind, they no longer remain in that grey area of “are they on a hot streak” or what not, Inter this year is dedicated to making a Champions League and in doing so it makes it very clear that if they overcome Juventus in a fortnight, the Scudetto is completely realistic.
To give credit where it is due, in a lot of the first half, Cagliari made it clear that they wanted the win and played incredibly well, they had very strong control of the mid field but once Inter found their rhythm in the game, they took complete control.
Santon starting once more is very impressive and looks very good, he provides great height, something we lacked in Nagatomo no matter how well he was playing. Santon’s ability to carry is much greater than Nagatomo’s allowing him to be able to exploit the space a lot more and if were speaking honestly his touch is far better than Nagatomo’s.
The center of the field was phenomenal today once they got the ball rolling. Vecino playing deep with Gagliardini and Valero as the attacking midfielder should very easily stay a weekly thing. What’s important to notice is that Valero often drops while Vecino uses his fantastic lungs and over laps, initially this was believed to maybe be a coincidence but after seeing it so often. It is clear that these are probably strict instructions by Spalletti to force opposing midfielders to make man marking more difficult. If the midfielders mark the ex Fiorentina men man to man, it leaves a lot of space and time for Gagliardini to carry or give the ball through and if the opposition marks the space, there will be inevitable holes that our midfielders can easily expose.
The absolute best player on the field today was Mauro Icardi. Today the world saw a new side of Icardi, one that isn’t seen often. Usually Icardi looks for prime opportunities to strike but today the world saw hunger in his eyes. Maurito fought for every single ball no matter how slight his chances of scoring or even keeping possession may have been. Icardi is king when it comes to positioning in the 18 yard box his strength and intelligence are what makes him one of the best if not the best poacher in the world
