Ex-Fiorentina Striker Ciccio Graziani: “Inter Are Scudetto Favourites, Dzeko Doing Better Than Lukaku Right Now”

Former Torino and Fiorentina striker Ciccio Graziani believes that Inter are still a formidable side and favourites to defend their Scudetto crown.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset, the 68-year-old gave his view on the present state of the Nerazzurri and suggested that they are still more than good enough to compete at the highest level of Serie A.

Inter find themselves third in the Serie A table as one of three unbeaten teams for the time being, behind city rivals AC Milan and perfect Napoli.

The Nerazzurri look to have come out of a difficult summer transfer window retaining the strength as a team that they need to compete for the Scudetto once again.

The losses of Antonio Conte, Achraf Hakimi, and in particular Romelu Lukaku had led many observers to believe that the Nerazzurri could struggle this season to maintain the level which saw them take their first Scudetto in eleven years last campaign, but they look to have replaced the departed figures well.

Graziani spoke about Inter’s match against Sassuolo on Saturday, stating that “Seven games in twenty days is a lot, the cup takes away energy. We congratulate Sassuolo, a team that plays well. It is not easy to face them.”

He went on, “In the first half, I didn’t like Inter. Then, in the second half, it was better. The changes were decisive.

“For me at Inter there are no problems, they are a huge team and they lack nothing. In my opinion they are the most serious candidate for the Scudetto.”

Of Edin Dzeko he stated, “He’s doing well, he knows where the ball needs go. Last year he scored few goals, Inter took a risk, but he is doing better than Lukaku right now.”

Lastly, he spoke about the incident between Inter captain Samir Handanovic and Sassuolo forward Gregoire Defrel in which the Nerazzurri man looked like he could have seen red but didn’t.

“Here the protocol allows the referee to decide without the help of the VAR,” he explained. “Handanovic has tried in every way to move, even if he makes contact with the player.

“According to the referee it was a irrelevant contact, for me it affects him. Maybe next week we see a similar episode and the referee intervenes.”