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| Lautaro Martínez of FC Internazionale and Danilo Cataldi of Lazio competes for the ball during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and FC Internazionale at Stadio Olimpico on August 26, 2022 in Rome, Italy. |
It was a difficult
Friday night in Rome for Simone Inzaghi as his Inter Milan squad
suffered its first defeat of the Serie A season, a 3-1 loss at the hands of
Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio. The loss exposed some concerns over tactical and
the mental aspects for a Nerazzurri side that dropped its first points of the
season after winning the first two matches against Lecce away
and Spezia at home.
Inzaghi’s squad started
string and created some decent chances, but it was Sarri’s side that managed to
score the opening goal of the match with Felipe Anderson heading home
a ball from Sergej Milinković-Savić to put the home team in front of the
Nerazzurri in the 40th minute.
It didn’t take long
after the halftime break for Inter Milan to respond in the second half and
immediately find an equalizer. Lautaro Martinez took advantage of a
chaotic situation inside the box and scored in the 51st minute his second goal
of the Serie A season.
At that point it appeared as if Inzaghi’s had the
situation under control until Luis Alberto changed the complexion of
the match by scoring an incredible goal. The Spanish midfielder, despite rumors
of an exit, stayed at the club in the summer and showed once again why he’s one
of the best midfielders in the league. Before the end of the match it was Pedro who
scored the last goal of the night that put the result on the 3-1.
After winning the
opening match against Bologna and drawing away against Torino,
Lazio’s win against Inter Milan was an important statement for a Sarri-led
squad that is showing it can compete until the end of the season for the
highest positions of the table. On the other hand, Inzaghi needs to find new
tactical solutions because Inter Milan are currently too predictable in the
offensive midfield.
The Nerazzurri are in
the toughest Champions League group with dates set against Bayern Munich, Barcelona
and Viktoria Plzeň. That alone makes Friday’s result a bit worrisome
considering how the first three matches of the Serie A season were played.
Inter lacked of intensity and the changes made by Inzaghi against Lazio left
some doubts among the fans.
The Italian coach chose to leave Hakan
Calhanoglu on the bench and also removed Denzel Dumfries and Federico
Dimarco in the second half. It’s also worth noting that Romelu Lukaku’s
performance was poor against Lazio and showed that the former Chelsea striker
needs to find a way to be more involved in the tactics of this team. This will
be up to him and to Inzaghi.
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