Italian football journalist Luigi Garlando has shared his belief that Inter are not yet a mature side and threw away two points against Lazio in Sunday’s afternoon’s match at the Stadio Olimpico.
Inter went 1-0 up through Lautaro Martinez on the half hour mark of the match but shortly after the second half began Inter let Lazio back into the game as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic took full advantage of Inter’s poor defending to score a header, that Inter certainly could have prevented.
Inter have made an unbeaten start to the 2020/21 Serie A season winning twice and drawing the other of their three games to date. Antonio Conte’s Inter are currently sitting in fourth place in the table, two points adrift of league leaders Atalanta.
“Long before beauty, full maturity is needed and Inter have shown in Rome that they have not yet conquered it,” he explained in his column in yesterday’s print edition of Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Inter dominated the first half and finished it ahead thanks to Lautaro, who scored for the third game in a row. Lazio went in to the interval disheartened by three injuries and already short of changes due to Lotito’s ungenerous transfer market, they returned to the field with Parolo at centre back.
“In seven minutes Lukaku and Lautaro wasted a match-point each and 10 minutes after the second half started, Perisic let himself be out jumped by Milinkovic-Savic and Handanovic was beaten at his near post. It was not enough.”
Garlando then went on to discuss Inter’s inability to capitalise on Lazio going down a man around the midway mark of the second half.
“With the extra man from the 24th minute of the second half, Inter did well to equalize the score in the 41st minute of the half when Sensi was sent off. This time Conte will not say he had fun. Inter threw two points away.
Garlando then went on to discuss what he thinks Inter could do in order to play how Inter manager Antonio Conte ultimately wants them to.
“In general, to produce the beauty that Conte wants, perhaps it would be appropriate for one side of the midfield triangle to be occupied by those who know how to dictate things (Brozovic or Sensi) or as an attacking midfielder (Eriksen).
“Kantè and Barella at the base of the midfield, with Vidal orEriksen at the top of the triangle would have been ideal. In this Inter there is no one with the characteristics of Kanté. He would have been the cake, not the icing. The fact that Eriksen did not come on despite Inter making five changes makes you think.
“The missed changes by Lukaku above all and by Lautaro and the conspicuous decline of the midfield, vented by the great pressing, gave Lazio a big hand to get back into play.”
Next Garlando discussed Stefano Sensi’s sending off near the end of the game and Arturo Vidal’s role in Ciro Immobile’s sending off earlier on in the half.
“He was naive because he put himself in a position to be punished, but Patric’s actions were farcical. Patric took a tap from Sensi, he realised that a red may not be given so he went to the ground.
“Vidal seemed exaggeratedly vulnerable to Immobile’s hand. Referees and VAR were guilty spectators. Loyal behaviour should be included in the sports profession, in such a dramatic period perhaps the sense of responsibility should be felt even more. Not just on the pitch.”
