Inter’s Serie A triumph: How Inzaghi’s side succeeded with refreshed scoring style and defensive solidity

A San Siro decked out in Red and Black was silent while only one end of the stadium in Blue rejoiced, as Inter Milan secured its 20th Serie A title on April 22 by beating city rival AC Milan 2-1.

Inter earned its second star (a star is awarded for every 10 Serie A titles) with five games to spare, extending its lead to 17 points at the top of the league, ahead of Milan in second. As the cherry on top, Inter went one clear of Milan to become the Italian team with the second most number of Serie A titles, behind Juventus which has won it 36 times.

Out of the 33 games that it took to win the league, Inter won 27, drew five and lost only one match, losing 1–2 against Sassuolo at home. So far, it is unbeaten away from home in the league.

After the departure of Antonio Conte, when former Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi took over the defending Serie A Champion in 2021, hopes were high. 

While his side was not able to regain the league title, Inzaghi won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia in his first season and finished the league in second place, two points behind the winner AC Milan.

Despite selling striker Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea for an Italian record of €113 million (USD 120 million), Inter still managed to score 84 goals (the most in the league that season) in Inzaghi’s opening year. 

The following year, Inter successfully defended the Supercoppa Italiana and reached the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 final after beating Milan in the semis.

It eventually lost to Manchester City in the final in Istanbul and ended its season third in Serie A, behind winner Napoli and Lazio in second.

Striking a balance between attack and defence

While there is a stereotype that Italian clubs play defensive and boring football, Inter has put that notion to bed by leading the scoring charts this season, netting 79 goals to date. Lautaro Martinez leads the list of top scorers in the league with 23 goals, seven clear of Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic in second.

What’s more impressive is that Inzaghi’s side has conceded only 18 goals in the competition, which is the least among Europe’s top five leagues.

Despite the departure of players like Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic, Robin Gosens, and Edin Dzeko, Inter managed to fill gaps in the squad during the transfer window.

It found a good replacement between the sticks in Yann Sommer, who was comfortable with attracting pressure and playing out from the back. 

Playing a 3-5-2 formation, Benjamin Pavard proved a vital signing and fit into the system as a wide centre-back along with Alessandro Bastoni and new signing Francesco Acerbi in the middle.

Throughout the season, Inter’s wide midfielders Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian/Denzel Dumfries dropped back into defence when they did not have possession. 

In attack, they make runs along the wings and create width, allowing them to put in crosses for the two strikers.

If the opposition attacked through the middle, then one of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolo Barella or Hakan Calhanoglu would step back to make up a back-four line. Even during buildup play, one of these three would come back and carry the ball forward.

Notably, Inter’s signing of the season has been Marcus Thuram, who arrived at the blue side of Milan on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach. He has played his role as a supporting attacker and has 11 goals and seven assists in the league so far. 

His presence has allowed newly appointed captain Latauro Martinez to take up the main role after playing deputy to numerous players in previous seasons at the club and national level.

A clouded future ahead

Inter Milan has had a very successful season this time. Apart from securing the Scudetto, Inter also won the Supercoppa Italiana for the third time in a row, beating Napoli 1-0 in the final.

Despite crashing out in the Round of 16 in both the UEFA Champions League and the Coppa Italia, Inter has secured a place in next year’s revamped UCL.

Inter will be looking to strengthen its squad in certain areas if the side is to compete in Europe’s premier competition. 

But, existing debts brought on by its Chinese ownership conglomerate Suning Holdings will make it difficult for Inzaghi to convince his players not to leave the club at the end of the season.

Nevertheless, with proper management, if it can find young and dynamic players to eventually replace veterans like Mkhitaryan and Calhanoglu, it will be exciting to see if the  Nerazzurri will be able to defend its crown without fizzling down like its predecessor Napoli.