Inter Milan midfielder Simone Inzaghi needs more goals from all through his squad, and in particular midfielder Nicolo Barella.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews.
One thing that seems perfectly clear is that Inter have no problem finding goals through their main strikers.
Lautaro Martinez has chipped in with a remarkable ten goals from just eight matches. And Marcus Thuram had added two.
This has been the chief reason why Inter’s attack is currently the most prolific in Serie A.
But after that, things have looked a bit thin on the ground.
Denzel Dumfries and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have each scored twice. As has Hakan Calhanoglu, albeit from the penalty spot.
Then there have been one goal each from Federico Dimarco, Francesco Acerbi, and Davide Frattesi.
That makes for eight goalscorers in Serie A in total.
Fiorentina, by contrast, have found the back of the net through twelve different players. That number is eleven for Atalanta.
And each of Roma and Napoli have nine different goalscorers in Serie A so far.
Inter Coach Inzaghi Needs More Different Goalscorers – Particularly Barella
The issues that this could cause for Inter are obvious.
First there is the worst-case scenario of Martinez being out with a major injury. Considering the Argentine is responsible for nearly half of the team’s goals, there are significant doubts about how they would cope in his absence.
And in general, Inzaghi will be hoping to see more goals from throughout the team, regardless of who he starts.
At the moment, there are doubts about how many goals are on the pitch when the coach rotates his team.
Inzaghi will want to see more goals from his defenders on set pieces, as Acerbi scored against Bologna.
And in the wide areas, the coach will aim to have Dumfries keep up his form – and Dimarco, Carlos Augusto, and Juan Cuadrado start to chip in more.
Obviously the fact that backup strikers Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic have failed to score so far is also a big issue.
But for the Gazzetta, the most prominent lack of goals is in midfield.
Mkhitaryan scored two important goals in the Milan derby. And Frattesi opened up his Inter account in stoppage time of that match.
But otherwise, there have been no goals from midfield in open play.
Inzaghi will want to see more of a threat from Calhanoglu. And Davy Klassen will also have to contribute.
But above all, the fact that Barella has yet to get on the scoresheet is an issue for Inter and Inzaghi.
The 26-year-old had developed into a major goal threat in recent seasons. And now he’ll need to show it this campaign.
