Italian journalist Paolo Condo feels that Inter could hardly have lost in the derby at a worse time in the context of their season.
Writing in his column in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper La Repubblica, Condo emphasized how the Nerazzurri experienced their second Serie A defeat of the season just as they head into their trickiest sequence of fixtures yet.
Inter went into the derby hoping that they could get the right start to a run of fixtures which could be decisive in their quest for silverware across every competition they’re in.
Instead, the Nerazzurri threw away a lead to allow their city rivals to take all three points and regain their footing in the title race.
Now, Inter face Roma in the Coppa Italia, Scudetto rivals Napoli in Serie A, and then Liverpool in the Champions League, and they do so with the potential dent in their confidence that has come from losing to the Rossoneri.
Condo feels this could be significant, writing that “The second defeat of Inter is easy to interpret as the first was. If the defeat at Lazio was due to naivety, the one in the derby was born of of presumption.”
He elaborates that “The Nerazzurri thought that the match was in their control and all but done, forgetting that Milan have the weapons to tear up the script in an instant.”
“These are the classic errors which, once they are made, should all but guarantee that they aren’t made again,” he goes on. “It happened in the first defeat, it was four months before the second defeat finally arrived, and in the meantime Inter have unanimously earned the status of the best team in the league.”
“This is more delicate,” he cautions, “however, because it kicks off a week of play-off matches: tomorrow against Roma in the Coppa Italia, Saturday away to Napoli, Wednesday against Liverpool.”
“The bitter fruits of the derby are to be found in the fact that Inzaghi must now navigate a potential minefield,” the journalist explains, “because even if we have known for some time that the schedule has given Inter a tough climb winter and a gentler descent in the spring, the psychological blow of the loss can’t be overlooked.”
