Inter - Lazio (25 Sep 19) [1-0]

[Universe]

In addition to his possession and playmaking duties, I thought Barella did a great job defending in midfield, particularly in the first half. He faded in the last 20 minutes or so but for stretches of the 2nd half, it was a one-man show and I'm bitterly disappointed he didn't get that goal he deserved.

Barella aside, both de Vrij and Handanovic had an excellent game. And I thought Lukaku showed glimpses of improvement. Biraghi was solid. I'd like to see him be a bit more adventurous and attack his marker in future. He wasn't as involved as I would've liked, but that's more down to the team than him.

For the negatives, I thought Vecino was utterly useless today, in both offense and defense. Politano was, well.. he was Politano. Lots of industry and running and pace, but no end product. And by "end product", I'm not even talking about goals or assists. Just simple hold up play and teamwork. Today, his ball control was very poor and he wasn't able to reliably give us a foothold in the final third. As others mentioned, he's looked far better coming off the bench.

Lautaro had another performance like in the derby. That is to say, sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit - all in the space of a 15 minute cameo.

The most concerning aspect of the game was the defence. Don't get me wrong, Lazio were in parts, excellent. They had some very good moments maintaining pressure and cycling possession in our last third, with clever movement and interplay. Watch how they set up the Caicedo -> Correa chance. Watch how their LWB Jony comes in to a central position from the left to be a 3rd attacker in the box while they create an overlap on the same left flank etc.

I'd have to rewatch the match to identify where things went wrong but there were a handful of times where a Lazio player (like Bastos) was able to just cleanly receive the ball, unchallenged and unmarked, in our penalty box. That's straight up bullshit.

 

[.h.]

Mourinho's 08/09 season won the league :troll:

I know, but we all know the circumstances around it and that we barely won it that year. It was a good year for him to learn about inter and go and appropriately construct a new team

 

[Campione]

We barely on the league during the 2009-2010 season. 2008-2009 season we were champions 2 or 3 games before the end.

 

[brehme1989]

2008-9 wasn't a great year coz we failed in Europe and the Coppa. We had Serie A easy because of Zlatan but it was obviously a transition period with many players leaving at the end of the season.

 

[Dogen]

I would definitely call it a good performance by the team in the second half, when we were able to keep possession, control the game and kinda legitimate the three points, with Sensi on the pitch, Barella stepping up at La Scala del Calcio and getting used to be a pillar in midfield (coitus interruptus when he missed the one-on-one with Strakosha), De Vrij finally showing up against his past and looking dominant.

And it was San Handanovic multiple times in the first half of the game (virtually the 599th half of his Inter career, thank you very much and congratulations), when we couldn't handle Correa and Caicedo. Immobile didn't do much when he came in for the Ecuadorian, but it wasn't the right situation for Ciro to be lethal nor the type/style of game for Lazio to exploit his ignorance.

The indolent Milinkovic-Savic returning the applause which came from Inter fans after his substitution means “done deal”.

Lautaro needing some refinement is nothing new and I'm glad for Biraghi's positive debut with assist.

Sanchez looks shrunken and 45 years old compared to his glorious days, but he shows his class anytime he gets involved, from setting up a counter-attack with a sneaky back-heel just seconds after the substitution, to hiding the ball, getting fouled and buying precious time.
Grande Viejo Maravilla and go ahead, Pintus (go ahead Inter in general - top of the league).

 

[ElDuccio]

I can see two problems: 1. The overall technical level of the team isn't that great, which is the reason why we convert only a fraction of what we create (particularly our forwards, while the starting midfielders are overall more technically gifted); 2. We only have 3, maybe 4 good subs.

If we want to fight for the title till the end, we need ausilio and Marotta to bring in something substantial in January.

I think with some luck and Juve having problems, we still can make it for the scudetto if things continues to improve. But youre right. We need a new midfielder, Vecino is not good enough, even as bench player he just sucks some times. Even someone like Vidal would be much better.


Anyway, as much Dambrosio can be not good enough for this team he always plays with heart and im really happy for he's goal, it was really important. Like the save against Empoli or all he's decisive goals, he's always present.

And Inzaghi should shut up. Always talking bullshit and crying arround like a baby. FUCK, OFF. Enjoy this lose, cunt.

 

[militoscores]

good performance. yes we gave up some good chances but lazio wil be fighting for top 4 so cant expect every game to be easy all season long

our 3 cbs are excellent with de vrij the standout last night, handa was in amazing form,we have only conceded 1 goal all season!

barella is now the best midfielder in the team, i will be happy if him and sensi keep fighting for that honour all season long! oh and brozo much improved too i should add

finnaly the lukaku we want to see showed signs he will get there, looks like back spasms really were to blame for his less physical performances

negatives - vecino struggling to make an impact, politano not a striker really, prefer him as a impact sub but he needs minutes i guess.

one last positive-i thought sanchez looked good and disciplined

- - - Updated - - -

If we get out of our CL group, then I guess we'll try to get one more Striker in the winter. Especially because Lautaro is so....meh.

ga bi gol

 

[.h.]

I'd like to go youth native. Get Sandro Tonali in. Something like that.

 

[Devious]

I'd like to go youth native. Get Sandro Tonali in. Something like that.

Oh man he's horny again, hide your kids ladies!

 

[.h.]

Hows barella sensi playing out for you

 

[Jassa]

2 things:
1. Stop hating on Lautaro and Big Rom. Did you see how exhausted and dead Lukaku was when he came off ? He gave his all. Did you see how energetic Lautaro was when he came on ? He gave his all. And thats all that matters, with their talent and will the good games will come.
2. Barella might be the fastest CM I ever saw.

 

[dax21]

Just want to point out yet once again how much of a hack SMS is, especially last night with that epic impression of Brozovic, constantly flailing with his arms and asking through hand gesticulation for impossible passes through 3 of our players.

There is being dumb, and then there is being Lotito dumb. It should be illegal to have an IQ that negative, seriously, to reject an offer of 110m for SMS like he did.

 

[Bluenine]

I'd like to go youth native. Get Sandro Tonali in. Something like that.

Now you are coming to what I've been saying for a year or so. Italy have a good generation of talent and we should grab us a big slice of that. Tonali, Chiesa, Kean, Pellegrini, Zaniolo, Mancini, Romagnoli, etc. We already have Barella, Sensi & Bastoni, we need to get ourselves a couple more from that pool.

 

[militoscores]

Just want to point out yet once again how much of a hack SMS is, especially last night with that epic impression of Brozovic, constantly flailing with his arms and asking through hand gesticulation for impossible passes through 3 of our players.

There is being dumb, and then there is being Lotito dumb. It should be illegal to have an IQ that negative, seriously, to reject an offer of 110m for SMS like he did.

put this hack in conte inter team and he woukd be a huge asset. he has not become shit overnight ffs, stop exaggerating good and bad

 

[dax21]

put this hack in conte inter team and he woukd be a huge asset. he has not become shit overnight ffs, stop exaggerating good and bad

For 100+ mil? Thanks but no thanks.
100+ mil players are supposed to be game changers, force multipliers, someone who can influence the result on their own, someone who breaks stalemates and wins games, someone that creates things out of nothing. Not someone that ended up being subbed out at 50th minute last night because he was useless.
I've been saying the same thing about Sergej pretty much since I registered on this forum, it's hardly over night. He is a 45-50mil player at best.

Not exaggerating anything.

 

[Pimpin]

Now you are coming to what I've been saying for a year or so. Italy have a good generation of talent and we should grab us a big slice of that. Tonali, Chiesa, Kean, Pellegrini, Zaniolo, Mancini, Romagnoli, etc. We already have Barella, Sensi & Bastoni, we need to get ourselves a couple more from that pool.

I don't get this obsession over nationality. Sure, this generation of italian talents seem promising, but the few past ones have been dog shit. I don't want us to turn into a brexit team ala man utd front 3 or chelsea front 3.

 

[Jassa]

SMS isnt worth 100m, but if we have 100m, its better to give it for SMS than give 40m for Joao Mario or Kondogbia, user dax21 sometimes takes it as he is spending his own money.

 

[firmino]

I am firmly convinced SMS is kind of playing badly on purpose to lower his market value, because he fears otherwise Lotito will never let him go.

 

[militoscores]

For 100+ mil? Thanks but no thanks.
100+ mil players are supposed to be game changers, force multipliers, someone who can influence the result on their own, someone who breaks stalemates and wins games, someone that creates things out of nothing. Not someone that ended up being subbed out at 50th minute last night because he was useless.
I've been saying the same thing about Sergej pretty much since I registered on this forum, it's hardly over night. He is a 45-50mil player at best.

Not exaggerating anything.

so no 50m player is a hack surely?

no one is debating 100m pricetag, just saying hes clearly not a hack if a player

 

[Guz]

Very important win, even more so considering Roma and Napoli's slip-ups. After a slow and uneventful start, the deadlock was broken by a brilliant link-up between our two WBs (something that would make Mazzarri wet his pants for joy). Paradoxically, the goal didn't dent Lazio's morale, but rather spurred them to go forward in numbers in search of the equaliser. On the other hand, our players started to look a bit too complacent and let their opponents gain ground too easily. We lost compactness in the middle of the park, and Lazio were able to play too many through balls. As a result, Handanovic was called into action in the last 20 minutes of the first half more than he was in the previous four games combined. Thankfully our captain was up to the task and preserved our lead until halftime, when Conte had finally enough time tweak his tactics. The second half was definitely better than the first. The team resumed control of the game and shut off Lazio's attack. The only flaw was that we weren't able to score a second goal and put the game to bed.

As I wrote above, we suffered Lazio's link-up play during the last 20 minutes of the first half, and our defence had trouble keeping Caicedo and Correa at bay. All in all, I'd say that de Vrij had a good performance against his old club, whereas Skriniar and Godin were decent despite some individual mistakes. Naturally the goal was the highlight of our WBs' game, with Biraghi curling a great ball towards the far post - with his weaker foot, no less - and D'Ambrosio perfectly timing his run into the box to make it 1-0, but generally speaking they were solid in defence and always ready to join in the attack. Good game by both of them.

As for the midfield, I believe we were too stretched out in the first half, which allowed Lazio to exploit the holes in our setup to build moves in our final third with their quick and technically gifted offensive players. It took the halftime break for us to finally take the necessary countermeasures. Anyway, Barella had another very convincing game, confirming the progress made over the last few weeks. Pity he couldn't take his chance and kill off the game, though. All and all, Brozovic's performance was OK, especially in the second half when he helped the team retain possession and move the ball about more quickly. However, it was a misplaced pass of his that caused Lazio's biggest chance of the game. If Barella and Brozovic did their bit, unfortunately the same can't be said about Vecino, whose performance was yet again impalpable. I've heard plenty of times since the start of the season that "Barella and Sensi can't play together because they're too short/light, and you need the physicality that Vecino can contribute," but what good is it being tall and strong if you never harass/challenge/tackle your opponents, win a ball back, win a header, etc... and all you do during the match is roaming aimlessly in the final third waiting for the right ball to fall on your head/foot? His substitute Sensi made his presence on the pitch immediately felt, giving new breath to our midfield both on and off the ball.

Lastly, the forwards spared no efforts in contributing to the build-up play, but at the same time resulted too wasteful/inaccurate in the final third. Lukaku had a couple of interesting shots, both from outside the box, but could never find the target. His fitness level seemed to have improved in the past few weeks. Politano was lively as usual, but seemed to suddenly lose the plot every time he got past the first opponent. I'm more and more convinced the best use we can make of him is playing him off the bench in the last 20 minutes or so, when the opponents are on their last legs and he can breeze past them with his burst of speed. Our last two subs had a very different impact on the game. While Alexis helped the team retain possession and run down the clock, Lautaro was (as is often the case with him) too frantic and eager to prove himself. That attitude led him to create a glorious chance for himself, only to squander it a moment later (when he should have just laid the ball off to Alexis for an easy tap-in) towards the end of the game. He also picked up another silly booking, although in this case I wouldn't be too harsh on him because Maresca ignored three infringements committed by Lazio players before the ref called an inexistent foul on him.

All in all we've been doing great so far, but we have not done anything yet.