Italian journalist Matteo Marani believes that Inter’s period of bad form has crossed the line into being and out-and-out crisis.
Writing in his column in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, the journalist suggested that the team’s form has become a serious problem in their Scudetto chase, more than ever.
The Nerazzurri have taken just seven points from their past seven matches in Serie A, clearly nowhere near the level that they would hope to be at to defend last season’s Scudetto crown.
Taken in isolation, any of the results where they’ve dropped points recently do not appear to be especially damning, but as a whole the team’s incapacity to turn things around has left a black cloud over their title pursuit.
Especially in the context of a tight race at the top of the table, Inter’s slump can no longer be thought of anything other than a crisis in Marani’sv iew.
“It was a Saturday full of emotion in the Scudetto race,” he writes, “with Milan and Napoli widening their advantage over an Inter who are officially in crisis mode.”
“Just seven points in theeir last seven matches, and only two victories – against Venezia and Salernitana – in two months,” he lays out the bad run of form.
“The team that dominated 2021 is on the wrong side of the form table in 2022,” he continues. “Inter yesterday suffered from an organized Fiorentina side, coached very well by Italiano, who in the first half gave Inzaghi’s team a hard time, they looked worried when they stepped out onto the pitch.”
“It’s true that Sanchez had the opportunity to win the match in the final minutes,” he goes on, “but it is equally true that Ikone had a gigantic opportunity in the dying moments, kept out by Handanovic.”
“Inter are no longer able to win, and they also have problems scoring,” he analyzes. “Taking out the match against the unfortunate Salernitana, they have scored two goals in five matches, far too few for the best attack in the league.|
“The absence of Brozovic, irreplaceable in their buildup phase, certainly weighs heavily,” he continued, “but the state of their form is even more worrying.”
He concludes that “Inzaghi identifies mental pressure as the key to their regression, as if Inter had paid the psychological burden of a success that had already been announced, but the limited squad rotation during the previous months is also starting to show through.”