Inter booked their place in the last four of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday night after a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina at San Siro. The Nerazzuri didn’t have it all their own way as they were pegged back on the hour mark after Martin Caceres cancelled out Antonio Candreva’s opener.
However, a thunderous volley courtesy of Nicolo Barella sealed Inter’s semi-final spot in the competition where they will meet Napoli in just over a week’s time.
Inter made it two wins from two in all competitions for the week with a 2-0 win, via a brace from Romelu Lukaku, away at the Dacia Arena versus Udinese.
Here are the five things we have learned this week about Inter.
Ash Has Made A Splash So Far
Perhaps the most uninspiring of all of the January transfers conducted by Inter was the signing of veteran winger turned full-back Ashley Young. The 34-year-old former England international has found it tough over the past few years at Old Trafford and has often been a scapegoat for fans.
However, Young has so far made an excellent start to life as an Inter player by providing an assist on debut and also providing much needed attacking width to the left hand side.
In Sunday’s win away at Udinese, Young found himself getting the better of Bianconeri right back Jens Stryger Larsen in terms of both attack and being able to defend against him. Young provides trickery from his days as a winger and is also happy putting crosses into the box which is music to the ears of Inter’s forward line. Let us hope that this is just the start for Ashley Young.
Sebastiano Esposito’s Rawness Has Been Exposed
Due to Lautaro Martinez’s silly red card a week ago and Alexis Sanchez’s current inability to last two full nineties in a week, Antonio Conte found himself relying once again on youngster Sebastiano Esposito to partner Romelu Lukaku.
Not for the lack of trying, Esposito looked awfully out of his depth against Udinese and was hooked before the hour mark and replaced by Sanchez who played his best role so far in an Inter shirt.
A lot is being asked of the 17-year-old currently as he finds himself as effectively Inter’s third choice striker despite boasting just five appearances in Serie A to his name. His first half miss at the Dacia Arena was akin to a player who looks weighed down a little by expectation and also a player who is lacking in experience.
There are currently no reasons to suggest why Esposito wont make it as a top talent for Inter but he must be allowed time and patience when carrying out such a role at just 17. Inter should really have strengthened the striker role in the window as Esposito should be given the chance to bed in as carefully and slowly as possible until he is able to perform consistently.
Marcelo Brozovic Has To Start Every Match
Marcelo Brozovic, when fit, must start every game. Inter looked transformed when he entered the fray on Sunday evening and his industrious nature gives Inter so much more purpose and holds them in place. His ability to get up and down the pitch, control the tempo and pick a pass means that Inter are a far better side when he plays.
The midfield is far stronger than it has been at any point since the treble winning season with the likes of Barella, Sensi and now Eriksen to play alongside Brozovic. As much as he perhaps lacks goals and often found himself not firing on all cylinders until Luciano Spaletti brought him some consistency, Brozovic alongside Handanovic, DeVrij, Skriniar and Lukaku completes the spine of this Inter side and that was proven on Sunday evening.
Nicolo Barella & Stefano Sensi Have Opposite Seasons Thus Far
Rewind to August and September time and you had Stefano Sensi bossing Serie A almost single-handedly. Goals, assists and barn storming energy were in abundance for the Sassuolo loan man whereas his much more expensive counterpart Barella was struggling for fitness and to adapt.
Back to January and a massively frustrating calf injury to Sensi has seen with him unable to complete ninety minutes in the league since October. Barella, despite suffering a setback of his own in the form of a foot issue, has found himself a fixture in the starting XI and is starting to turn out the performances his price tag and lofty potential promised. Barella’s sublime winner against Fiorentina in the Cup showed a man full of confidence and at the top of his game and also a man now truly embedded in Conte’s system.
Hopefully the early promise shown by Sensi can be allowed to restart and he can remain injury free as we approach the final third of the season. The early season chatter was how Sensi would walk into Italy’s European Championship side alongside Barella in the heart of midfield but whether injuries will put pay to that remain to be seen.
The signing of Christian Eriksen could add to the options in that area of the field excellently or it could block the passage of Sensi. Whether the Sassuolo man can rediscover his form and fitness will be seen in the coming months..
This Month Will Define Inter’s Season
Starting with the derby next Sunday evening, Inter have a massive February ahead of them. Up until March 1, Inter face Milan, Napoli in the Coppa Italia semi-final, Lazio at the Olimpico, Ludogorets home and away in the Europa League and a trip to the champions Juve. No pressure lads.
After all the hard work done by Antonio Conte and his men this year, it will all boil down to how this season defining month ends. Worst case scenario could see Inter out of two cup competitions and effectively consigned to third place in the league which would be a real disappointment.
Conte needs to use all of his squad which is now boosted with some savvy January additions as well as players returning to fitness in the coming weeks. Conte’s spine of players will need to step up to the plate and it will be a sure test of how the side have progressed this year since the summer brought about a new regime.
Albeit being a pressure month, it is excellent to see Inter approaching February fighting for three different competitions under a setup that looks like it is set to fight for the same honours every year now for the foreseeable future. Crunch time is now though and its the teams who do the job who get remembered and not the nearly men. Time to be counted.
