Look Walter, it is possible and it just happened: this Inter can win 3 matches in a row in the Serie A. Walter Mazzarri’s curse has been broken as Roberto Mancini guides his team to all 3 points at the Sant´Elia stadium in Cagliari for the first time since 2011 in what turned out to be a very hardfought victory after Inter dominated for 65 minutes.
Roberto Mancini has spoken a lot about the importance of not just playing like a big team but also approaching matches with the mentality of a big team. Tonight Inter did just that as the team continued the second half in the same manner in which they had started the first half, but shortly after former Inter primavera player Samuele Longo was brought on and that changed the match entirely.
Longo. who’s still owned by Inter, caused Juan Jesus more problems than any other striker has this season which led to the Brazilian making a mistake prior to Cagliari’s goal. Before that Mauro Icardi scored a fantastic goal which gave Inter a 2-goal cushion after a period where Cagliari were really piling on the pressure. Inter, however, showed character and scored their second of the night ans Icardi his 14th of the season in the Serie A which makes him the current joint top scorer of the Serie A along side Carlos Tevez. Before the season I predicted he’s become the league’s top goalscorer on 25 goals, the way he’s going I might be proven right just yet.
Handanovic’s injury caused him to miss tonight’s game and although it isn’t a serious injury, Inter need him back between the sticks as soon as possible. Sure Carrizo produced some fantastic saves but the Argentinian goalkeeper’s actions when going out to stop a cross resembled more an old woman hanging up her washing on a clothes line in very windy conditions than an Inter goalkeeper. However, give credit where credit is due: he made some very important saves that in fact saved Inter in crucial moments of the match.
Nemanja Vidic was back in the starting 11 after Serbian media claimed that he’d had a bust-up with coach Roberto Mancini after the midweek fixture against Celtic. The Serbian defender looked solid as did Juan as well but is in need of minutes together with the young Brazilian defender so that they can perfect their partnership. On the wings Davide Santon gave a faultless performance in that his runs up and down the flank caused Cagliari severe problems, especially since his crossing was impeckable. If Lukas Podolski had been a bit more sharper then he would and should have scored at least on 1 of those deliveries.
On the other side Campagnaro demonstrated again ahy he has no business whatsoever playing as a full-back since he’s a complete liability. The lack of options can be blamed on the injury situation in the wing-back department but then we’d be lying since apart from D’Ambrosio and maybe Dodó Inter don’t have any viable and decent options in this area.
In the middle of the pitch the Croatian duo of Brozovic and Icardi dominated together with tonight’s captain Fredy Guarin and Gary Medel. Watching Guarin play rigth now is nothing more than a joy as he makes 1 intelligent decision after another and if he makes a mistake he’s immediately running back to make amends. Brozovic continues to play as he’s done nothing but play Serie A football for the past decade. His maturity and intelligence is only matched by his passion and determination to chase down every single ball. Gary Medel is thriving when playing with these players and it shows as he barely puts a foot wrong for the full 90 minutes. If you add a certain Xherdan Shaqiri as well as a Hernanes who looks like he’s in excellent condition to the equation it suffices to say that Inter’s problems don’t lay in the middle of the pitch.
No the problems are in defense, in the middle as well as on the wings. If Santon can maintain tonight’s form and if Vidic and Juan can keep Ranocchia out of the team the problem’s decrease somewhat but there’s no doubt that these are the areas where Inter need to stregthen the squad come June. But first things first: Inter need to see off Celtic to go through in the Europa League and will do so without Lukas Podolski who isn’t part of the Europa League squad. In all honesty, the German international won’t be missed either based on his performance tonight as he missed 2 absolute sitters tonight. However, confidence is essential to a striker and he’s certain to start on Sunday when Inter take on Fiorentina at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday as Mancini 6 co hope to extend the winning streak to 4 matches in a row for the first time in over 2 and a half years.
Inter should think about coming in for M’Poku! He looked pretty decent for a wing option. Maybe let Podolski go back to the Gunners. He is on loan to Cagliari now who have an option to buy but surely Inter could get in there!
i think the same.. constant threat in wing.. we need that type of player
I think his great performance was due to our very shakey defence
The only thing protecting rano was his armband… just make guaro the official captain for the rest of the season and POOF! Problem solved!
so now everyone loves Guarin?
No just give him for the rest of THIS season, then give it to JJ the next
just give it to marco or handa
Of course, I would give it to Marco Andreolli too. I want to see JJ on the left, Santon on the right, Vidic and Andreolli as starting back four.
the rano hate is real
And deserved.
carizzo like old woman hanging her washing. LOL
sarcastic at best XD
hope carizzo doesnt has more washing to be hanged againts celtic :v
carizzo like old woman hanging up her washing on LOL
Good job mancini, that’s how you broke the curse. solid performance from inter lads. And also we always win when Brozovic on starting 11. Unfortunately he can’t play in Europe league with us.
so we’ll see kuz in action again next match.
Kuz was absolutely a non-factor in the first leg.
I wonder why he was tired as he hadn’t been playing 4 straight games!
unfortunately,Kuz is the only midfielder we have that can play as one of three midfielder. i prefer kuz ahead obi/hernanes/kova to fill brozovic position.
I prefer Hernanes.
Kuz is too slow and soft.
After every Inter game I must say this 😀
Brozo is the only A+ IQ player in this squad.