Inter have found their feet in a defensive sense over the course of this season, and this is borne out by their defensive numbers as the season has worn on.
This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, who note the stark difference in the Nerazzurri’s defensive statistics over the first eight matches of the season compared to the fixtures since.
The Nerazzurri started the season off with a blazing attack, but their defensive vulnerability looked to be a major worry.
In the first eight Serie A games of the season Simone Inzaghi saw his team ship eleven goals, an average of 1.37 goals conceded per game, keeping only one clean sheet in the process.
This was a serious problem for the Nerazzurri who watched as fast starters AC Milan and Napoli raced ahead at the top of the table with more consistent displays on both sides of the ball.
However, Inzaghi implemented changes in response to the defensive issues that he saw on the pitch, tweaking the team shape to ensure that there is always sufficient cover against counterattacks.
The result has been a Nerazzurri who still control games and have lost little in the way of attacking potency, but are also a much more consistent defensive unit than they had been to start the season.
Over the eight matches played since the Nerazzurri’s 3-1 defeat against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, they have conceded only four goals.
The average of a goal conceded only every other game shows a stark difference from the 1.37 let in per game earlier in the campaign, and makes clear how significant the improvements the team has made have been.
