Italian journalist Matteo Marani discussed Inter’s derby defeat to rivals AC Milan in an editorial in today’s paper edition of the Turin based newspaper Tuttosport.

“If AC Milan have to wait to understand their real position on the table, Inter have known something more since yesterday afternoon. They do not have sufficient alternatives in defense.

“Skriniar and Bastoni were unavailable because of Covid, to which Young should be added, who guarantees more coverage on the wing than the more offensive Perisic. The team appeared fragile, naked.”

He highlighted the Nerazzurri’s defensive issues in the game, which allowed Swedish veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic to find the back of the net twice.

“Kolarov loves to push up, he knows how to assist, and so does D’Ambrosio, who loves the moving up the pitch. But when it comes to defending, it’s over.

“Ibra’s penalty conceded by Kolarov is the result of his inexperience in the role, his difficulty in stopping Leoa’s advances shows his lack of experience defending the open pitch.”

The Italian journalist looked back to Inter’s position a year ago, after they had played their first four games last season.

“Inter in four games have already dropped five points compared to a year ago and have conceded eight goals, where in the first year with Conte they had conceded only one in the same number of days.

“There will be a way and time to make up for it, even to cancel this derby that could have ended in a draw. “

Marani touched on how the Nerazzurri need to find a run of form soon, considering the strong performances of their rivals for the top spots AC Milan and Napoli.

“But not too much time, look at the pace that Napoli and Milan are finding. In his first year in Turin, Conte was Italian champion with just 20 goals conceded.

“In practice, he already reached almost half of that in only four games.”

Finally, Marani spoke about how Conte should not forget the importance of a strong defense, even if the club have an incredibly strong offense.

“Conte also said some time ago that now, especially in Europe, they all play to score more goals than their opponents.

“This is true, but the Scudetto remains tied to the defense. Sarri was an exception, not the rule.”

Inter coach Antonio Conte will now have to take the positives and negatives from yesterday’s derby defeat and look ahead to next week’s Champions League opener against Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.