Legendary former Inter striker Christian Vieri believes that the Nerazzurri have made themselves Scudetto favourites this season.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview published in today’s print edition, Vieri praised his former club for how they moved on from the sale of Romelu Lukaku and named them as favourites to defend last season’s Serie A title.
The Nerazzurri have brushed off a difficult summer and a few wobbles in the early weeks of the campaign and now look to be the form team in Serie A and imperious favourites to win the Scudetto.
This owes a lot to how the team coped with the blockbuster sale of Romelu Lukaku, which came after Antonio Conte, Achraf Hakimi, and Christian Eriksen were already lost.
The club had to operate on a limited budget in replacing these key figures, but they have gotten themselves right back on track based on their form so far this campaign.
Vieri noted that “It seemed like Inter’s run would come to an end without Lukaku and Hakimi.”
“Quite honestly I think everyone thought, at least a little bit, that the Nerazzurri would have a hard time replacing certain players,” he added.
“They did well in signing Dzeko,” he continued, “a player of the highest quality and the right player to replace Lukaku.”
“And then they bought Correa as well,” he added, “together, the Bosnian and the Argentine replace Lukaku’s goals.”
He stated that “They are certain of themselves both tactically and technically, and also they have Dumfries, who has shown incredible progress over the last few weeks.”
The former striker named Inter as the favourites for the Scudetto, reasoning that “All the players are playing at their highest level.”
“Speaking of the new signings, Calhanoglu is extraordinary, but everyone is at a very high level,” he went on.
“And Inzaghi has given his guys the kind of mental freedom they probably didn’t have under Conte,” he continued, “and has changed the overall tactical structure of the team.”
He explained that “Simone has given the team new ideas in the absence of a focal point like Lukaku.”
Vieri stated that “I enjoyed the first half of the season, I saw teams trying to play good football, to impose their games, all things that are good for Serie A.”
“It is not easy to dominate against the smaller teams who play a bold style of football, who are organized, who no longer set up to limit the damage and play on the break,” he went on.
“There is always a possibility of an interesting result,” he went on, “even in matches that seem one-sided on paper.”
