As expected, Inter vs Sassuolo was not a straightforward game. But as the second half got underway and time was passing by quite fast, Inter fans all around the globe were becoming more restless: When will Spalletti finally give the go ahead for Lautaro Martinez to enter the game? When will we insert a second striker for Inter to be more dangerous?

The answer to that came ten minutes before the end, when finally, Lautaro Martinez entered the fray. It took him only a couple of seconds to try his luck with a dangerous header but to no avail. Unfortunately, Lautaro could not leave his mark as he did on other occasions.

So let’s go straight to the question that most of you asked in the past days: Why can’t Inter play more regularly with two strikers?

1. Spalletti’s Phobia

Truth be told, even Spalletti himself was first impressed by Lautaro Martinez after an amazing pre-season. Indeed, he was so won over by Inter’s new number 10 that he opted for Icardi and Lautaro for Sassuolo-Inter of matchday one, back in August 2018. But to some extent that also meant the start of the end of this partnership.

During that game, Inter suffered Sassuolo’s grit and conceded various dangerous breaks. To make things even more worse, Inter didn’t manage to break down Sassuolo’s defence despite playing with two pure strikers like Icardi and Martinez.

Soon after that, Spalletti reverted back to play with one central striker (Icardi) while relegating the newcomer to the bench. This continued for several games and till now, Icardi and Lautaro rarely played together.

2. The Benevento Exception

But Sassuolo vs Inter of August was not the sole game where Icardi and Lautaro started the game along each other, I can imagine you asking. I’m referring to last week’s Coppa Italia game against Benevento which ended with a 6-2 win. Icardi netted the opener from the penalty spot while Lautaro scored a brace in the second half.

Truth be told, the Benevento game might have served to test again the viability of two central strikers, but still it remained an exception. Furthermore, one cannot truly test the efficiency of Inter with two strikers against a Serie B side. The quality of our opponents are much higher than the modest Benevento.

3. It’s A Question Of Balance

Spalletti was confronted on the issue we’re discussing more than once, and credit to him, he was always coherent with the same message: It’s a question of balance. He said that Icardi and Lautaro can easily play together, but the team must play in a way to cover Lautaro’s advances. And so far, it seems this never happened without suffering too much.

The decline of Inter’s midfield also contributed to this lack of peace of mind. Nainggolan has never been on form this season; Vecino’s fitness declined considerably; Gagliardini failed to win over a regular place while even Brozovic, who was undoubtedly the best midfielder throughout this season, seemed to run out of steam in recent games. Add the unrecognisable Perisic to the equation and you may admit that Spalletti’s reasoning is not illogical after all.

As a result, the Argentinian duo played together in cases where Inter had to push forward and risk everything but for the rest of the time it was a question of either Icardi OR Martinez.

4. Conclusion

I am no tactical expert and thus I will certainly not publicly admonish Spalletti on a tactical matter.

However, what I dare to say on this issue is that Inter are yearning for glory and against a defending Sassuolo or Chievo I expect Inter to take the necessary risks, and not just for ten minutes or less. Even if this means risk upsetting the squad’s balance, top teams take the necessary risks when games are not going their way, and in this regard Inter must do much more.

Spalletti’s attitude in this regard may very well reflect a mentality of a team which is not aiming to the very top. Everyone knows that in order to win, you must start by having a winning mentality.

Do YOU agree?

James J Piscopo is a journalist based in Malta. At 27 years old, he has been following Inter for more than two decades. He writes a weekly editorial exclusively for SempreInter.com.