Italian journalist Luigi Garlando believes that Inter will be worrying that they are enduring a similar drop-off in the final stretch of the Serie A season to those frequently experienced by Lazio under Simone Inzaghi.
Writing in his column in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Garlando suggested that while the Nerazzurri are still very much in the title race they must be wary of further decline.
Inzaghi impressed in his five seasons in charge of the Biancocelesti, with his success in the Coppa Italia and bringing Champions League football seen as major accomplishments.
However, the team could never quite deliver on the promise of a Serie A title despite some of their blazing starts to campaigns, always looking sluggish towards the back end of seasons.
Garlando believes that a similar pattern could play out at the Nerazzurri, and that this is the biggest impediment to a second consecutive Scudetto for Inter.
“Their asset is the Scudetto on their chest, the experience at the top and the presence of many experienced top players,” he writes.
“But also the memory of a dominant game that this group has imposed despite the unexpected slowdown,” he continues. “Inter continues to have the best attack in the league.”
“Certain qualities are still there,” he writes. “If only Inzaghi remembers which drawer he put them in.”
“Inter are here,” he suggests, “having lost all of a sudden, with the fear of an irreversible decline like so many of Simone’s Lazio sides.”
“Additionally, the exaggerated dependence on Brozovic and the 3-5-2 system, and the failure of Dzeko and Lautaro to grow as a strike pair.”
He concludes that “If Inzaghi finds the right drawer, starting from the decisive duel in Turin, Inter can still reach the second star.”
