Inter are now six points behind Juventus and La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Luigi Garlando emphasizes the growth of the team in his latest column.
“The best Inter so far this season crushed Lazio, caught up with Napoli at the second spot in the standings and got a four point gap in the fight for a UCL spot and even if AC Milan should win the game against Genoa, they can not get more than the 18 points that Lazio has.
“Roma, one of the greatest competitors for the UCL spot are even further down in the table with seven points less than Inter but this is not why Inter coach Luciano Spalletti is smiling, it is how Inter secured the sixth win in a row in this year’s Serie A.
“Spalletti’s Inter seemed to have occupied Lazio’s half with a high defensive line and refused to retreat even when the score was 3-0. This is the big news, not the second place Inter is currently holding. One year ago, during the first half of the season, Inter was even better, holding the first spot in the standings. However, this was obtained by exerting a lot when it came to using energy.
“Their wins come from beautiful goals, like the one from Brozovic and the second from Icardi. So it seems like Spalletti finally has understood that Juventus should not only be chased in the standings but above all also in terms of quality of moving the ball and in personality.
Garlando concluded his column by looking at the changes Spalletti made which he believes made all the difference to Inter last night.
“After a dominant derby, Inter was too passive against a Barcelona that owned a lot of the ball possession. There is no question about the quality of a team like Barcelona, but yesterday Spalletti wanted to change what he saw against the Catalans and designed a much more game plan against Lazio with much more ball possession. This was made thanks to two major moves: First, the comeback of Joao Mario as a starting player, who before this match had ended up in the darkest corner of the locker room. It was a Joao Mario that showed qualities we have not seen from him in a long time. Second, the new midfield position of Brozovic. In the 4-2-3-1 he often had the ball without having any teammates to pass and was often alone. Yesterday when he advanced, he often had Vecino and Joao Mario to support him. This is how the success from last night was built. This edition of Inter has the best defense in the league with only 6 goals conceded and a number 9 that always scores. Vecino has already achieved a continuity of a very high level and has built a gold bridge with Icardi. But there are margins of growth, Perisic is not yet the “true” Perisic, and Nainggolan still has to give his best. But with a new Joao Mario and the qualities of Borja Valero, Spalletti could start to have fun.”
