Inter, Inzaghi risks confirmation. The defeats undermine the relationship with the Corriere.it group

No one knows what the real Inter is anymore, not even its coach Simone Inzaghi, almost in shock after Friday’s defeat in La Spezia. And this is the main problem, at least on a technical level, from which the other woes of a team that in 2023 lost 13 points out of 15 against Empoli, Bologna, Spezia, Sampdoria and Monza, all away apart from the defeat against the Tuscans arrived immediately after Riad’s triumph in the Super Cup.

This immediate scenario leads to two practical considerations: the first is that Inter’s calendar after the derby won at the beginning of February was easy to detach the opponents in the Champions League race, and therefore out of the twelve remaining games, four will be direct clashes, because that is still to be considered, as Allegri always reminds us, the one against Juve on Sunday evening; the second is that Inter know how to have perfect evenings, even away from San Siro, as in the 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou in October against Barcelona.

Inzaghi no longer hiding (my bad) but at this point, with society disappointed and angry in equal measure, immediate confirmation also risks being at stake. The coach will cling to feats like that of Barcelona when tomorrow he gets on the plane ladder that will take him to Oporto for the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League, after the narrow victory in the first leg with a goal from Lukaku. At Dragao (where the turf is run down because it was hit by a fungus) Dimarco will return from the start, while there is pessimism about Skriniar’s availability, struggling from back pain since the first leg, even if today the Slovak will try again.

Starting over every time after the umpteenth defeat (8 out of 26 matches in the league, it hasn’t happened since 1948) not so easy and not only because Sergio Conceiao’s team is very tough, even if on Friday they struggled to beat fourth bottom Estoril (3-2). Every Nerazzurri flop has its own stories and waste that settles on morale, self-esteem and also on the solidity of the troop in search of certainties that quickly disappear after victories in which the team manages to express all its potential.

If it takes so many sticks to learn a lesson, it means that i post-match comparisons — yet another yesterday in Appiano — they leave things intact: thus the idea could be crystallized that the coach has no hold on the team, now in a sort of self-management, at least at the level of motivation. Yet in La Spezia Inter didn’t get down soft and distracted like in Bologna and could (should) close the case already in the first half. As soon as Inzaghi derogates, for obvious reasons of turnover, from the very owners, then the cracks multiply.

Not to mention the negative constants that are repeated, starting with the goals born from counterattacks conceded. And even a year ago the February-March period between the round of 16 of the Champions League did serious damage, which they have conditioned the Scudetto march: if there is an original sin, which has undermined the relationship of trust between the coach and the group, perhaps never completely recomposed, then it must be looked for there. Otherwise how can you explain Barella’s umpteenth puzzled expression at the substitution or the fact that Lukaku got angry with the bench because Lautaro kicked the first penalty? A more authoritative guide is needed. Either with Inzaghi or without him. Even if there is still a year of the 5.5 million contract.

Certainly with the return of Brozovic and Lukaku himself Inter thought they had made two new signings, which were decisive for changing pace, but at least for now this has not been the case. Lukaku beat him a few shots, but it seems clear that the understanding with Lautaro is very far from that of Antonio Conte’s days: the Argentine seems less at ease with his old attacking partner, also because in the meantime his way of playing and his status have changed considerably. Brozovic, on the other hand, hasn’t found his pace yet, he looks more backwards than forwards and has understood that in the games that weigh the most, Calhanoglu’s position as director and also the Inter of the future will no longer revolve around him. Really understanding who is around, at least for two games in a row, this is the problem.