Former Inter centre-back Francesco Colonnese was not at all surprised to see the Nerazzurri beat Juventus in yesterday’s Derby d’Italia.
Antonio Conte’s side ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at home to their arch rivals as they picked up their first victory in this fixture in no less than five years.
Arturo Vidal and Nicolo Barella scored the goals that opened up a seven-point gap in Serie A to the Bianconeri, who Colonnese believes are far inferior to Inter now.
“I have always said that Inter were stronger than Juventus,” he remarked in an interview with Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb’s radio station TMW Radio earlier today.
“Inter’s defence is not comparable to that of Juventus, it’s much stronger.
“Inter have three very strong central defenders, who have had drops in performance but we saw how they were unbeatable yesterday.
“They also have important players in midfield and while in Europe they did not fulfill their potential, in Italy they are frightening for opponents.”
The former Napoli player then shared why he thinks Inter have now become a more solid team than they were at the beginning of this season.
“At first Inter suffered because they were pressing high up the pitch, now they only do it in their own half.
“This is why they are now more solid.”
Colonnese also went on to sing the praises of former Cagliari man Barella, who was pivotal in Inter’s success with him setting up Vidal for the first goal and then scoring the second goal after haf-time.
“Barella is a real player, he’s strong, he knows how to play all roles in midfield,” Colonnese added.
“He has improved a lot in the last year, he’s a European player.”
Colonnese played for Inter between 1997 and 2000.
He made 80 appearances for the club, in which he managed to score two goals.
