It was not a good game, but neither was it as bad as some would like to make it look.
We were in control for the whole first half, but Brescia's ultra defensive setup and a general lack of sharpness on our part prevented us from creating chances. Brescia came out strong in the second half and put us on the back foot, exploiting the fact that several of our players didn't seem capable of keeping up with the higher tempo imposed by our opponents. All in all, I'd say we managed to defend in a (rather) orderly manner, blocking the centre and forcing them to attack down the wings, even though
Handanovic had to step up on a few occasions to resolve tricky situations inside our 6-yard box.
The Slovenian was clearly the MotM, parrying everything he humanly could and only succumbing to friendly fire. Our defenders were OK, I guess, especially considering that the midfield couldn't always provide the required covering. I must say that
Skriniar has been looking quite nervous in the last few weeks and yesterday he made a few too many silly fouls near the edge of our box. He also scored an own goal, but we can't really hold that against him.
De Vrij was composed as usual, even though he's partly responsible on their goal. Lastly,
Godin was good, but he's clearly getting more and more reliant on a mix of garra and experience to make up for his declining physique.
Candreva and
Asamoah were average at best, as they weren't able to stretch Brescia's tight defence in the first half when the rondinelle were bunked up in their final third. They were also less than convincing when it was time to defend in the last 45 minutes, even though it must be said that we "decided" to force Brescia to attack down the flanks. Sabelli in particular looked like a man possessed in the second half.
Biraghi didn't have time to show anything, he just hoofed the ball away whenever he could.
The midfield was the real letdown of today's game. Both
Barella and
Brozovic looked exhausted - understandably so - and struggled to keep up with their direct opponents when Brescia upped the tempo of the game. The result was that we let
Tonali [he's not ready to be a starter, but he could definitely be a valid rotation option for us. Doubt Cellino would sell him in January, though] take control and moved at least 30m back.
Gagliardini was a little bit livelier than his teammates, but nothing extra ordinary. Anyway, the general tiredness of our midfielders, and the lack of viable options from the bench is my main concern at the moment.
Conte is right in his analysis of the situation, but he still needs to include more men in the rotations. Anyway, let's pray Beppe&Pierino have already readied a plan for the upcoming mercato.
Both our forwards scored from outside the box today. Nice.
Lautaro's goal was a stroke of luck to be honest, whereas
Lukaku's was actually a brilliant strike. As for their performances, I believe they were decent overall, even though they couldn't really find a way to unlock Brescia's deep defence in the first half and were not always able to hold the ball up in order to allow the team to take a breath in the second.
Esposito was subbed in towards the end and couldn't do anything beside running after Brescia players. I'd venture to say that he's surpassed
Politano in the pecking order.
Balotelli to the Inter fans
I was at the stadium yesterday and must say that I understand his reaction (even though it might cost him a few games ban). He was insulted and jeered at by our fans throughout the match. I didn't partake in any chant against him firstly because I'm a gentleman (even though I may have occasionally insulted Brescia, its population and half the female relatives of their players during the course of the evening) and secondly because it's been 10 years since that famous incident. We still won that game (and the cup), he fucked off and wasted his career. Couldn't we just forget about him and move on?
