Inter will no doubt be eyeing up a comeback against Napoli in the Serie A title race, and whilst there’s no doubt it will be difficult, they could have three factors on their side over the second half of the season.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who argue that the individual form of Hakan Calhanoglu and Edin Dzeko as well as the team’s ability to function as a unit could see the Nerazzurri’s form crest over the second half of the campaign.
Calhanoglu’s emergence as a really top-class regista at the base of Inter’s midfield looks to have given the team a different look.
The Nerazzurri are no longer reliant on Marcelo Brozovic being fit and at his best as they were last season, and now have more solutions than ever in central areas.
Meanwhile, Dzeko has defied expectations that his age would lead to a steady decline ever since joining Inter from Roma in the summer of 2021, and he is arguably in the best form of his Nerazzurri tenure at this moment in time.
If the former Manchester City and Wolfsburg man can keep performing at this level, even just for three or four months, he could be the catalyst for Inter’s attack to be clearly the strongest in Serie A.
Lastly, the Gazzetta argue, the Nerazzurri are increasingly showing team harmony and the ability to both attack and defend as a cohesive unit on the pitch.
Inter’s first goal against AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana, a flowing team move started by wingback Matteo Darmian and finished off by his opposite number Federico Dimarco, was proof that the Nerazzurri are less reliant on just one or two strikers than ever, and that at their best every player has an important role.