Routine Inter Win
It’s not often that Inter records a routine win. After all, we are not known as “Pazza Inter” for nothing. This win against Fiorentina away at Stadio Artemio Franchi is impressive for a couple of reasons. One, it came after only 2 days of rest after our midweek Coppa Italia semi-final, first-leg against Juventus. Second, we have not beaten La Viola in Florence since 2014.
Strong & Sharp Start To The Game
We got off to a great start in this match, we were sharp and incisive in our attacks. Nicolo Barella made the wrong decision with his cut-back and then his shot was saved impressively by Bartlomiej Dragowski. It looked odds on that he would score. In another attack, Alexis Sanchez’s drag-back missed everyone in a white shirt in the box. It looked like we were going to struggle to break them down until Barella scored a goal of great individual quality, curling a shot from outside the box into the bottom corner of the net.
Poor Response To Taking The Lead
Our response to taking the lead wasn’t positive. We allowed Fiorentina to get a foothold in the game by ceding possession to them. We were also not able to get the ball forward accurately and getting it to stick in the opposing half. However, we showed defensive resolve and focus to bat away whatever Fiorentina threw at us. Samir Handanovic tipped Giacomo Bonaventura’s shot onto the crossbar and then stop former team-mate, Cristiano Biraghi with his legs all in a space of 10 seconds. Handanovic has received a lot of criticism from Inter fans this season and justifiably so but that sequence was a throwback to large parts of his career at Inter.
Killer Goal & Could Have Been More
We got our second goal against the run of play on the counter-attack. Achraf Hakimi’s pace was devastating again. He left the Fiorentina defender in his wake and produced a simple cross for Ivan Perisic to tap-in. That goal deflated Fiorentina as we assumed complete control of the match. Romelu Lukaku had a goal called off for Perisic being in an offside position when he received the ball. Dragowski had to make 2 great saves to deny substitutes Lautaro Martinez and Roberto Gagliardini. We could have won by more if not for the big, bearded Pole in the Fiorentina goal.
Odd Substitutions
Arturo Vidal’s struggles continued in this game. He wasn’t quite in the game and was brought off at half-time for Gagliardini. Gagliardini is another figure that has received a lot of flak from fans but he was instrumental in providing balance and regaining control in midfield. With Inter taking a 2–0 lead slightly more than 10 minutes into the second half, I expected substitutions to rest key players for the Coppa Italia, semi-final, second leg against Juventus. Sanchez didn’t deserve to be substituted as he didn’t do too much wrong in the game. Moreover, with him being suspended for the semi-final, he could have played the full game. I felt players like Hakimi, Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and Lukaku should have been the ones to have been brought off. Lukaku was eventually brought off with a handful of minutes left. Perisic was brought off with cramp for Matteo Darmian. Hakimi, Barella and Brozovic lasted the full match. Only 3 out of 5 substitutes used. I found it odd with some big matches coming thick and fast for us.
Tougher Challenges Await Us In This Month
This win bodes well for the future if we can get more routine wins. At times, it was tough for us as we weren’t playing well but we could still squeeze out a win which is a good sign. This needs to be repeated for more matches though. Tougher challenges await us in this month and it starts with trying to overturn a first-leg deficit in the Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus.
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