Inter have one of the greatest midfielders in world football with Nicolo Barella, according to the Nerazzurri’s former coach Marcello Lippi.
Barella is reportedly in contention to become Inter’s next captain after Samir Handanovic and has received high praise lately from the likes of Beppe Bergomi, Nicola Berti and Luigi Di Biagio.
Lippi also spoke out in favour of the 24-year-old last week and doubled down on his views yesterday, following Barella’s majestic performance in Sunday’s Milan derby.
“Barella is Italy’s best player at the moment, as well as one of the best midfielders in the world,” Lippi, who also coached Juventus and Italy among others, told TMW Radio.
Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez took most of the headlines after both scored in the 3-0 win over AC Milan.
Inter’s Lu-La partnership is on course to break all sorts of club goal-scoring records and Lippi was full of praise for them as well.
“Lukaku and Lautaro are lethal in open spaces, just like Achraf Hakimi,” he continued.
“Lukaku is brilliant, aside from his goals he also lets Inter play in several different ways.
“Antonio Conte’s teams press a lot but they’re also excellent when their opponents leave space in behind.
“Inter are playing with a level of conviction and self-esteem which allows them to take more risks.”
Lippi also gave his views on the state of the Serie A title race, warning Inter there was still a long way to go.
“Inter are the strongest team at the moment, but they went out of Europe, so there’s no Italian team which is competitive at European level,” he argued.
“The league is absolutely not finished now they’ve gone top.
“Inter are the most consistent side but there’s a fair way to go.
“One must consider that Inter can dedicate their preparation entirely to the league and this is an advantage.”
