Inter are already starting to show much more of what they can do after a slow start to the preseason if their 3-0 Serie A win over Spezia was anything to go by.
This according to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, who praised the Nerazzurri’s defensive compactness and evident improvement in physical fitness compared to a sloppier win against Lecce in their opening match of the season.
Inter had secured the three points in their Serie A opener away to Lecce, but they needed a last-gasp winner from Denzel Dumfries to do so, and it was always obvious that improvements would need to be made.
Coach Simone Inzaghi admitted as much, stressing that the team would need to take the week as an opportunity to take a big leap forward in terms of their physical fitness and tactical cohesion.
The coach was always clear that he felt that part of the reason for the Nerazzurri’s slow start in preseason was that their preparations had began a little later than many other teams, particularly with many of the key players from their starting eleven returning to training late following an extended break due to international duty.
The preseason cobwebs had not looked to have been shaken off in Inter’s Serie A opener against Lecce, and so their second match of the season against Spezia was always going to be a test of whether the team could dispense with their two most persistent lingering problems from preseason, a lack of defensive compactness and the sense that they were at least half a step off the pace physically.
The Nerazzurri’s display against Spezia was a very encouraging sign, considering that the team saw out the match conceding just two shots to the Ligurians, neither of which forced a save out of Samir Handanovic, whilst they turned their dominance of possession into three goals.
The season is still only just barely underway, but the sense from Inter’s win over Spezia is that they are much further along in growing into the season than they had been just one week ago against Lecce.
