This week we focus on contrasting seasons for Simone Inzaghi’s in-form Inter Milan and the goal shy Fiorentina class of 2022/23. And with Milan now boasting three clean sheets in a row, German centre-back Malick Thiaw has been catching the eye.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Inter are clearly the second best team in Serie A
Inter have been in fine form domestically having only lost twice in their last 15 league games. They’ve now emerged as the clear number two in the league behind Napoli, who are currently 15 points above second place. What the Nerazzurri have done so well under Simone Inzaghi this season is battle adversity. Consider that the club has only gotten two goals from star striker Romelu Lukaku and has seen their best midfielder Marcelo Brozović miss a large chunk of the season. On paper, these two issues should’ve had a bigger effect on the club, but the replacements have stepped up in stunning fashion. Most notable, Hakan Çalhanoğlu has completely redefined his game under Inzaghi. An inconsistent player who alternated between left wing and attacking midfield at Milan, he’s become a much more solid player in a deeper role at Inter. He’s been especially impressive filling in for Brozović in that deep lying playmaker role right in front of the defence, so much so that Inter have hardly missed the Croatian during his time on the sidelines.
Another player who has benefited from the injuries has been the 34-year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan. “Miki” was brought in last summer to give Inter a more offensive midfield weapon off the bench after the departures of Arturo Vidal and Matias Vecino, but he’s been a regular in the lineup playing alongside Çalhanoğlu and the box-to-box Nicolo Barella. There were questions about Mkhitaryan’s salary given that he should be entering the twilight of his career, but his intelligence and tactical awareness has given Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 a more technical look in midfield.
While Inter were favourites to win the Scudetto last season, they’ve taken a backseat along with everyone else in the league to a historic Napoli side that is currently dominating the league. Even without a Scudetto, you could argue the Nerazzurri season has been a success. They demolished their rivals Milan to hoist the Italian Super Cup, got out of the Champions League group stage, and will face Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Fiorentina’s poor season
23 rounds in and Fiorentina are creeping dangerously close to a relegation spot in Serie A. A sluggish 1-1 draw to Empoli over the weekend has continued their meek form. They’ve been perhaps the biggest disappointment of the season in Italy. From a Conference League finish last season under the exciting manager Vincenzo Italiano, to this disappointment of a campaign that’s seen them pick up only two points from a possible 18 in 2023. The problems are evident and quite simple to identify – goalscoring.
Simply put, Fiorentina has not been able to replace the stellar form of Dušan Vlahović, who was sold to rivals Juventus a year ago. Since then, they’ve been sputtering up top in a system that should be beneficial for a striker. Italiano’s Fiore have some of the best possession and passing statistics in the league. They’re a team that plays with a high defensive line and wants to keep all of the possession in the opponent’s half of the pitch.
The issue is that they force teams into a low block and have no one who can score on the endless amount of crosses they send into the box. Luka Jović has been a disappointment so far – three goals in 20 appearances (with an xG of nearly 5).The other strikers haven’t fared much better. Arthur Cabral was signed for €14m from Basel where he was terrorising the Swiss League, but hasn’t been able to get anywhere near his goal scoring totals at his old club, having only found the back of the net six times in 32 league matches. Compare this to Dušan Vlahović’s form at Fiore – 17 goals in 21 matches in his final season in Tuscany, and the team’s struggles in the league become easy to understand.
The Viola also have three very quick and tricky wingers in Jonathan Ikoné, Riccardo Sottil and Nico González. The problem for them is they have no space to run into. Teams playing Fiorentina are essentially pinned back into their own final third, which creates no room for these wide players to operate in. This wouldn’t be nearly as glaring an issue if they had someone finishing off all of the chances, and it would probably highlight things Fiorentina do well, like their passing and strong midfield play.
The President Rocco Commiso isn’t shy about voicing his opinion, and you’d expect wholesale changes if Fiorentina end the season near the drop zone.
The rise of Malick Thiaw
Milan’s nightmarish start to 2023 has finally ended and they’ve now won three consecutive games with a 1-0 scoreline, including the all-important first leg against Spurs in the Champions League. The new constant? Thiaw started from the first minute in each of those three clean sheets.
The 21-year-old German centre-back needed some time to finally be trusted by coach Stefano Pioli. He hardly saw any minutes in the first half of the season, but injuries to Fikayo Tomori and the inclusion of a three man back-line meant there was suddenly space for the youngster to show off his ability. Thiaw had considerable experience before joining Milan – he played an entire season in the German second division with Schalke as well as 18 games in the Bundesliga. Milan took advantage of Schalke’s relegation woes by signing him last summer for a measly €7m, a fee that now looks to be a bargain with how well Thiaw has answered the call and slotted into Milan’s new look defence. What’s even more impressive with him is how comfortable he looked in his Champions League debut against Tottenham. Thiaw not only looks intelligent from a positional standpoint and imposing in the air, but he’s also confident on the ball. It was the centre-back’s long pass down the flank to Theo Hernández that set up the only goal of the game.
As it stands, Thiaw seems to be following a path similar to that of Pierre Kalulu last season. Kalulu only got his starts after Simon Kjaer went down with a serious injury, and quickly did well partnering Fikayo Tomori and leading Milan to their first Scudetto in more than a decade. Now, we may see both Tomori and Kalulu welcome a new impressive young defender in Thiaw to play alongside them.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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