The direct-match taboo was overcome thanks to the victory in Atalanta-Inter: Simone Inzaghi‘s team triumphed at the Gewiss Stadium with a 0-2 result, thanks to goals from Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez. A win that delighted all Nerazzurri fans who travelled to Bergamo, as they now move six points clear of Gasperini‘s team and three points ahead of Antonio Conte‘s Napoli. Let’s summarize what we saw last night with our list of ‘Five things we learned from Atalanta-Inter‘.
1 It was a PERFECT Sunday for Inter: firstly the Napoli draw in Venice, then Juventus collapses in Florence, and finally comes another victory against Atalanta. At the season’s most critical juncture, Inter remains the only Italian team fighting on all fronts, clinching a win that sends a very strong message, earning them their first +3 at the top of the Serie A standings.
2 The match at Gewiss Stadium featured extremely high intensity, almost like a chess game with moves and counter-moves. Yet, as Mkhitaryan said earlier: when Inter plays their own football, they become simply unplayable.
3 The midfield was one of Inter’s main strong points, and when it operates like that, everything becomes easier. Everyone finally returned to form, and it’s precisely there, by controlling the play, that Inter won the match. Although Barella misplaced a few dangerous passes, he was everywhere, and the assist he provided for Lautaro‘s goal was fantastic.
4 Lautaro himself played an immensely generous match and was decisive in the goal-scoring department. It was inexplicable that the referee disallowed his first goal: after allowing practically everything earlier, he then whistled for a minor foul against Djimsiti. A shame, because Lautaro could have celebrated a brace on such an important evening.
5 Yesterday’s victory counts as the eighth consecutive win for Inter against Atalanta, with an aggregate score of 12-0 in the last four fixtures. Gasperini was visibly frustrated, earning himself an expulsion, as even though the club continues to buy him new players, he has entered a spiral worse than Pioli‘s worst spells during numerous lost derbies.
