Italian journalist Paolo Condo believes that a key difference between Inter and AC Milan in the Serie A title race has been the Rossoneri’s ability to get the best out of substitutes.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, Condo gave the view that particularly in the closing stages, Milan’s squad has proven more durable while the Nerazzurri’s level has often dropped after making substitutions.
Inter’s squad is a fairly deep one on paper, and there have been instances through the season where they have called on match-winners from the bench, while their twelve goals from substitutes are second only to Atalanta in Serie A.
However, there have also been a number of matches in which the introduction of certain players has shifted the balance in ways that have not been favourable to the Nerazzurri, as the substitutes have not been up to the same level as the players they’ve replaced.
Condo feels that this has been a factor including in the team’s difficulties seeing out their 2-1 win over Udinese, and that the Rossoneri do not have this same problem to the same extent.
“Inter’s five points disadvantage going into it, for an away match like that of Udine, could be have been psychologically a major block,” he said.
“But the answer was an immediate goal from Perisic, a response of great authority,” he went on. “Then the problem of difficulty seeing out matches emerged,” he went on.
He highlighted “The fact that they had to bring on Vidal, who’s no longer really an Inter player, significantly lowers their quality.”
“AC Milan has a higher quality overall among their sixteen main players,” he added, “which is why even rotation and absences can be dealt with without the problems that Inter had in the period in which Brozovic was out.”
