Inter, phase two of the season: nine matches in less than a month

According to Il Giornale, Inter today opens a new phase of the season, with nine matches to be played in less than a month, considering commitments both in the league and in the cups. The cycle will close on November 8 with Inter-Como.

Chivu starts again from a top position in the standings, shared with Lazio and Roma. The break has returned to the Nerazzurri coach Lautaro Martinez, who will be a starter on Tuesday against Bruges, and Calhanoglu, recovered after the physical issues that had kept him away from the national team. He has instead lost Jones, who was injured at Appiano. On Calhanoglu’s missed trip to Bologna for Italy-Turkey, where in Istanbul they reproached him for not showing up even as a non-playing captain, Chivu defends him: “I wanted him to train with the group, and on Monday the training was in the afternoon.”

In the league, after Parma — now led by Gilardino, who replaced Cuesta, sacked during the break — the Nerazzurri’s schedule includes Bologna, Fiorentina, Venezia and the derby against Milan, a match that Lautaro and his teammates have not won for two years. On the European front, the newspaper describes the Champions League trio with Bruges, Shakhtar and Feyenoord as manageable, while it considers the path in Serie A more slippery.

The topic of Inter as favorites inspired a quip from the coach in the press conference. When asked who could turn out to be the anti-Inter, Chivu replied: “And why not the anti-Roma or the anti-Como?” Then he added: “We know who we are, we don’t need to be reminded that we have the medal around our neck.”