Inter gave a statement of intent in the Serie A title with their 4-0 dismantling of Cagliari at the San Siro yesterday evening.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who argue that the Nerazzurri demonstrated that they are just as strong under Simone Inzaghi as they were under Antonio Conte to go top of the table for the first time.
The Nerazzurri’s summer of upheaval left many observers wondering whether the team would be left with enough quality to defend last season’s Scudetto crown.
Even with the arrival of a talented coach in the form of Simone Inzaghi and several good signings, the losses of head coach Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku, Achraf Hakimi, and the stricken Christian Eriksen looked ominous.
Inter’s early season form showed that they had gotten back to their feet, but it was not yet obvious that they were ready to go all the way in the Scudetto race for the second season in a row.
In recent weeks, however, Inzaghi has seen his team discover some of their most consistent and devastating form of the campaign at the right time to overtake their faltering rivals at the top end of the Serie A table.
The Nerazzurri went top of the table with three points yesterday evening, capitalizing on AC Milan’s draw with Udinese the previous evening, but more than that they did so with an absolutely emphatic performance.
The nature of the opposition as among the relegation candidates will be noted, but the Nerazzurri’s performance left absolutely no doubt as to their superiority.
The 4-0 scoreline more than reflects the run of play, in which Inter missed a penalty, hit the frame of the goal, and forced eleven saves out of Rossoblu goalkeeper Alessio Cragno including several spectacular ones.
There is still a lot of football to be played over the rest of the campaign, but Inter showed with their ruthless display against Cagliari that unseating them from their Scudetto perch will be no easy task.
