Inter’s win over Udinese yesterday afternoon could be an important turning point in their season, marking their second consecutive clean sheet and a performance where they found a way to win while looking defensively in control.
This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, who highlight the match-winning brace by Joaquin Correa and compare the match to a victory against Sassuolo last season.
The Nerazzurri have enjoyed a fairly positive start to the season, although dropped points in important matches and some perceived defensive frailties have suggested that the team are not where they need to be under Simone Inzaghi and left them with work to do catching up to the league leaders.
Inter faced a similar situation at the beginning of last campaign under Antonio Conte, where they were picking up points but lacked a certain balance, trailing early front-runners AC Milan.
A win over Sassuolo marked the point where Conte seemed to find the identity he wanted for the team, and they virtually never looked back for the remainder of the season.
Inzaghi will hope that the successive wins over Empoli and Udinese will be looked on in the same way, with the team figuring out how to win even with rotated starting elevens and against tricky opposition.
Inter held out defensively against Udinese’s counterattack, their second clean sheet in a row and their fourth match in all competitions without conceding from open play, and they found a way through the compact and organized block of their opponents in the second half.
Joaquin Correa had been virtually the worst player on the pitch in the first half of the match, cutting a frustrated figure and struggling to have any influence, but two excellent goals showed what he can offer.
Inzaghi will hope that the team can find performances going forward, solid at the back but with flashes of quality and inspiration in attack.
