Inter’s left side was exposed as an area of real vulnerability in yesterday evening’s 3-1 Serie A loss at the hands of Lazio.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Il Giornale, who suggest that the Nerazzurri looked like they were entirely without a reference point as Federico Dimarco and then Robin Gosens attempted to fill the hole left by Ivan Perisic.
The question of whether Perisic could be adequately replaced following his free transfer to Tottenham Hotspur always looked to be a key one for the Nerazzurri this season given that he was arguably their outstanding player last campaign.
The plan has been to given Dimarco, Gosens, and Matteo Darmian the chance to take up the left-wingback role, but so far this season none have manage to replicate the Croat’s influecne.
Against Lecce and Spezia this was not really a problem as the Nerazzurri were able to win anyways given their broad superiority over the opposition.
Lazio were always likely to be a sterner test, however, and Dimarco started looking fairly composed given his unique qualities in possession, but as the Biancocelesti started to find ways to target him looked increasingly exposed.
The 24-year-old was the biggest culprit for Lazio’s opening goal as he completely lost Felipe Anderson despite ostensibly marking the Brazilian, a far cry from Perisic’s dogged defensive displays last season, and for all the quality of his deliveries into the box, he showed why he is not as complete a threat going forward as the Croat had been.
Things didn’t get much better when Gosens replaced Dimarco, with the German still looking like he doesn’t quite have the sense of how to utilize his best qualities in this team, a real worry considering he has always been seen as the long-term successor to Perisic.
