The first Serie A match of 2019 for Inter followed all the patterns of the last fixtures of 2018 even though the points won differ. Whilst the Nerazzurri ended the year with a somewhat undeserved win against Napoli, they began the year with a somewhat lucky point against Sassuolo.
After the goalfest against Serie B outfit Benevento last weekend, Inter were optimistic going into the home fixture against a Sassuolo that Inter struggled against in the opening match of the Serie A season. Spalletti made many expected changes to last weekends lineup, changes that hardly anyone can disagree with beforehand. The defensive wall of Skriniar and de Vrij were back at the heart of defence, whilst Danilo D’Ambrosio was given the nod ahead of Croatian international Vrsaljko.
D’Ambrosio has been one of the players that has benefited the most from training under Spalletti since he arrived from Roma. The former Torino full-back has raised his game at least one level, especially when going forward. The player, who in a now legendary interview declared that he is ‘Not Maicon’, has learned to improve the accuracy and timing of his crosses in a way few, myself included, thought he could. He has always been solid defensively but now he is starting to shine offensively too.
Perhaps the player that has grown the most under Spalletti’s tenure, is Marcelo Brozovic. Exactly 12 months ago he was on his way to Sevilla in La Liga but the deal never materialized after Spalletti put in his veto, and that has turned out to be a stroke of genius for everyone involved. Even when his Epic Brozoness isn’t at the top of his game, he is still good, as was the case against Sassuolo. His vision, timing and passing is sublime and at times the passes he makes are breathtaking.
But football is a team sport and Brozovic was the only midfielder in black and blur that turned up on the day. Sassuolo’s Sensi and former Inter Primavera player Alfred Duncan were beasts, especially in the first half, where they outran, outfought and out-thought Matias Vecino and Joao Mario who looked very lost. The Neroverdi’s executed the high pressure brilliantly pressuring Inter to make simple mistakes over and over again. They were almost positioned perfectly to counter Spalletti’s midfield who struggled a lot int he first 25 minutes.
Only during a 20 minutes spell in the first half did Inter manage to find respite against De Zerbi’s tactics, and that was by taking more risks in playing the ball diagonally from D’Ambrosio to Perisic or via Brozovic to Perisic or Politano. This way Inter forced Sassuolo to move sideways causing their pressure to have no effect and wear off.
After the break though Inter didn’t do any of this and when they tried, the balls played were of poor quality which allowed Sassuolo to regain possession much simpler than they had in the first half. De Zerbi’s men started to take over and if it wasn’t for the repeated heroics of Samir Handanovic and a last second diving tackle/block by the human wall from Slovakia, Sassuolo would have won.
“I’d rather be a bad coach that’s lucky and win than a great coach who looses.” Those special words come from a certain Portuguese manager and they have largely been true of Spalletti, who is a great developer of talent and whose man management skills are demonstrably great.
However, you can only ride your luck for that long and it is bound to run out. When it does Spalletti will have to rely on his ability to change a game as well as getting it right from the start. Against Sassuolo he started the game poorly and made the needed changes far too late. The decision to bring Nainggolan had virtually no effect and the decision to bring Lautaro Martinez on, came far too late.
The Argentinian youngster looks to be booming with confidence and form, which is the polar opposite of what can be said about Nerazzurri captain Mauro Icardi, at least judging on his performance against Sassuolo. If the poor showing against Sassuolo continues, he will be the target of harsh criticism from his detractors who have yet not been able to argue that the off-field antics of his agent/wife regarding his contract negotiations with the club, have had no impact on the club.
In previous years there has been no alternative to Icardi, that is no longer the case. Lautaro Martinez is no longer the skinny spring chicken that landed in Milano in June, but is looking more and more like the very promising and talented Argentinian attacker who Inter spent a reported €20 million on.
Therefore, Spalletti needed to bring the youngster on sooner as the double tandem of Martinez-Icardi looks far to dangerous for teams like Sassuolo to handle over 90 minutes. The current 10-15 minutes are not enough and Lautaro is currently too good to be benched.
So the question going into the Torino game is: will Spalletti continue to rely on luck, or will he get it right from the start when he is faced with a Walter Mazzarri who is under a ton of pressure? Or will just be another case of it being a new year but the same old Inter?
