Antonio Conte has three players to thank for Inter’s incredible form in Serie A, according to a leading Italian journalist.
The Nerazzurri are 11 points clear at the top of the table with just eight games left, making them odds-on favourites to secure their first league title since 2010.
Conte’s side have become the first team in Serie A history to begin the second half of a league campaign with 11 straight wins, following Sunday’s 1-0 victory against Cagliari.
Analysing Inter’s remarkable winning run, in a column for Monday’s print edition of La Repubblica, Paolo Condo said: “These numbers are proof that Conte is superior to everyone else when he can focus on one game per week.
“They also tell you that Conte was successful in creating more options for himself within Inter’s squad, once he realised they weren’t going to be able to make any signings in January.
“Bringing Christian Eriksen, Ivan Perisic and even Alexis Sanchez back into the fold has been a key factor in their long winning run.”
Condo was particularly encouraged by Eriksen’s performance against Cagliari, which saw the Dane continue his impressive revival under Conte in 2021.
“Inter had to be patient against Cagliari and required help from their substitutes,” Conte pointed out, with Achraf Hakimi coming on to provide the match-winning assist for Matteo Darmian.
“It’s great news that Eriksen managed to dictate play in an unusual midfield trio, because Inter will need to manage their tempo in the final few games and he knows how to do that.
“Think of it like the last two laps of a 10,000 metre race: when you reach the final stretch with a big lead, like Inter have, you can afford to look over your shoulder and see what’s happening behind, so you don’t waste unnecessary energy.
“They can keep some gas in the tank for whenever they might need it.”
Inter will look to take another step towards the Scudetto when they visit Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
Conte’s side will be hoping to repeat their 1-0 victory from the reverse fixture at San Siro in December.