With a net from the disc of Hakan Calhanoglu and a defense that made no mistakes, Inter won a game of great sacrifice and suffering at home against Arsenal. Three points that send Simone Inzaghi’s team into the top 5 of the Champions League standings and increase the chances of a direct qualification of the Nerazzurri to the round of 16.
As usual, let’s see in our analysis the day after five things we learned from Inter’s victory over Arsenal.
Let’s start with the three points, a success that weighs heavily in this competition. A team victory against one of the most credited teams in this Champions League. A team spirit rediscovered and a defensive solidity that had rarely been seen this season, despite the many changes made by Inzaghi in the starting line-up.
A huge round of applause goes to the Nerazzurri coach for yesterday’s match: who could have ever imagined winning against Arsenal by removing five starters from the starting line-up? Certainly, the Demon from Piacenza thought so, who relied on squad rotation to beat the ‘Gunners’. This mixed formula, used throughout this new Champions League by Inzaghi, is definitely working.
Despite the general narrative of recent times about Inter is not so exciting, looking at the last nine official games played, eight victories have arrived. And in the last three matches, three clean sheets have also matured, extremely important given the defensive difficulties encountered in recent weeks. It is incomprehensible how some can still judge as not positive the start of the Nerazzurri’s season.
From last night’s game, it’s really hard to find a single best player on the field because almost everyone deserved a high score. Bisseck was monstrous on defense, Darmian nullified Saka. But Pavard and de Vrij also made no mistakes, while all the midfielders were solid. And then how not to highlight the moment Dumfries is living, finally back to a physical condition that in Italy and Europe makes the difference.
The only ‘negative’ note is the enormous suffering on corner kicks. It’s true that Arsenal prepares these situations very well, especially when facing a goalkeeper with evident physical limits like Sommer. The attention was maximum on every ball, even on the almost own goal of Taremi miraculously saved on the line by Dumfries. However, we must find countermeasures to overcome certain difficulties on set pieces.
