Antonio Conte’s pragmatic tactical switch is the secret behind Inter’s rise to the Serie A summit, according to his former Juventus teammate Fabrizio Ravanelli.
The Nerazzurri went top of the table for the first time this season after beating Lazio 3-1 at San Siro on Sunday.
Inter’s win over Simone Inzaghi’s side showcased their much-improved defensive solidity, as well as Romelu Lukaku‘s incredible ability on the counterattack.
Ravanelli believes Conte’s tactics are to thank for both, telling Sky Sport Italia: “Lukaku is a phenomenal player.
“Against Lazio we saw how important he is in Inter’s game plan, because let’s not forget that they’ve started to pick up points and win games since they changed their tactical approach.
“If we analyse all the Inter matches in the first part of the season, Conte always tried to play an ultra-attacking style and he suffered a few defeats.
“Since they’ve started sitting deeper they’ve won matches like the one against Juventus in the league, by waiting for them in their own half, or against Lazio who they knew would struggle without Stefan Radu in defence.
“Inzaghi was forced to move Francesco Acerbi across after Radu was injured in the warm-up and that meant he could no longer man-mark Lukaku.”
Ravanelli, who also represented the Biancocelesti during his career, then went on to give Inter’s opponents some advice on how to make things difficult for Conte’s side.
“To be able to face Inter, opponents must have preventative measures against players like Lukaku or Achraf Hakimi,” he explained.
“If you can stop those two, Inter will have a hard time scoring goals.
“We saw it in the Champions League and in the Coppa Italia against Juventus, but since they have changed their attitude, they have become a team that is very difficult to score against.”
Inter are one point clear of AC Milan and have the chance to extend that gap with victory in Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina.
The Rossoneri relinquished top spot after surprisingly losing at Spezia on Saturday, paving the way for Conte’s side to overtake them 24 hours later.