The night at San Siro brought numerous emotions for fans of Inter and Venezia. Although Inter did not succeed in taking the lead in the first half, the pressure increased in the second half, culminating in the goal by Lautaro Martinez. In between were many missed opportunities, two great saves by Yann Sommer and the final thrill of Sverko’s goal being disallowed for a handball in the last second.
In the usual analysis on Passione Inter, we look at a few aspects that may have been unnoticed during Inter-Venezia.
1 Inter continues to produce a huge number of goal opportunities but score few compared to what it creates. Yesterday Thuram wasted at least three clear occasions, Mkhitaryan missed a goal and had another disallowed for inches. Simone Inzaghi has again stressed the issue of missed goals and the numbers support him: 20 total shots, but above all 8 shots on target with only one goal. Filip Stankovic was the best player on the field for Venezia, but there were also many responsibilities for an Inter team that is often delicate, light and not ruthless in front of goal. And then you pay for it, as against Juventus, or risk paying for it, as with Venezia.
2 For the fourth consecutive match, Inter had to give up Hakan Calhanoglu as a starter. And for the second time to replace him was Piotr Zielinski, similarly to what happened with the bianconeri. However, the midfielders who have recently acted as playmakers, namely Nicolò Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, often swapped positions with the Pole, also in order not to give many references to the opponent. Zielinski showed some encouraging signs from the center, handled more balls and tried more vertical solutions, but remains a point to be analysed: only 2 recovered balls and one won ground duel out of 5 attempted, 2 successful dribbles. The difference with Calhanoglu continues to be tangible and it is no coincidence that the entrance of the Turk has been felt.
3 Chapter refereeing. The video of Sverko that admits the handball clears up any doubts if there were any, but there is more to discuss. The referee Ferrieri Caputi, if we limit ourselves to her live decisions without the help of VAR, made several mistakes. The most serious was the alleged foul by Denzel Dumfries on Haps: it’s a game contact, the whistle was exaggerated and without it, it would have been a clear penalty for Inter as also admitted by Tuttosport. But then, if this is the benchmark, how can that of Sverko not be a foul on Bisseck at the end, when he uses both hands to jump? Furthermore, Ferrieri Caputi does not see a clear handball from Svoboda on Taremi’s shot, but is saved by the toe of Thuram ‘s boot resulting in offside.
4 Many have wondered the reason for Lautaro Martinez‘s fury at the end of the match. The anger of the Inter captain – as he admitted in front of the microphones – was not due to Sverko’s later disallowed goal, but to the decision on the 7 minutes of stoppage time. Too much, according to Toro, if compared to the zero in the first half when the game was more frequently interrupted. And in this case, too, a double standard.
