This week, Inter booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with victory over old adversaries Shakhtar at San Siro.

An Edin Dzeko brace allowed Inter to progress through to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in nearly a decade.

Saturday evening also saw Inter climb into the title picture with a comfortable win away at Venezia.

Here’s what we learned from Simone’s men this week.

1) Champions League Monkey Off Inter’s Backs

Even if Inter were to progress no further after their last 16 tie, they have well and truly got a monkey off their back by getting past the group stages.

After three failures since their return to Europe’s premier club competition, Inter can now finally test themselves against the top sides on the continent.

One of Simone Inzaghi’s targets will surely have been to progress in Europe so for him to have managed what Antonio Conte and Luciano Spalletti couldn’t before him is worth a huge amount of kudos.

2) Ivan Perisic Needs To Be Made A Lucrative Offer To Stay On

A much maligned figure in the not so distant past, Croatian dynamo Ivan Perisic is establishing himself as the best wing back at the club.

Farmed out to Bayern following his role in the Mauro Icardi debacle and the arrival of Antonio Conte, Perisic looked to be done and dusted.

However the past year has seen remarkable transformation from wing pretender to gritty wing back.

With him out of contract in the summer it looks as if these are going to be his final months in Milan, but perhaps a decent offer could tempt him into staying whilst he’s at the top of his game.

3) Inter Should Cut Their Losses With Alexis Sanchez

Five plus years ago, Alexis Sanchez was one of the best players in the world.

Winning games for Arsenal on his own as well as for Chile, but a move to Manchester United and countless niggly injuries have seen his star dim somewhat.

On big wages and constantly picking up knocks whilst on international duty, Sanchez is at the point where he is offering little to nothing at Inter.

With the player also seemingly unhappy too given some of his social media interactions, maybe a move back to Colo Colo might be beneficial for all parties.

4) Sign Sassuolo’s Davide Frattesi

This may seem like a bold call but few midfielders have impressed this year in Serie A quite as much as Sassuolo man Davide Frattesi.

A productive loan at Monza last year has helped him fill the void left by Manuel Locatelli in Alessio Dionisi’s side.

With Roberto Gagliardini being so ineffective and Matias Vecino seemingly on his way out, Frattesi would add quality in replacement.

A high energy midfielder who could allow Barella a rest is also no bad thing also, with Frattesi being very much a box to box man who is capable of playing a pressing style.

Whilst real life isn’t quite football manager, it would be good to see Inter make a move for this man.

5) Scudetto Jigsaw Pieces Starting To Come Together

With Napoli and Milan’s ridiculous form now on the wane, the current champions are licking their lips.

If only Lautaro had scored from the spot in the derby then Inter would already be above Milan, which reflects magnificently on the job done so far by Simone Inzaghi.

With Milan threatening to fold as they did last term and Napoli’s injury list starting to gather a few names, the league table is looking much more favourably upon Inter.

A win against Spezia in the week could see Inter hit top spot if results go their way which would really represent what an excellent run of form the side are on both domestically and in Europe.

Things are good at the moment. Long may they continue.