It’s been another typically busy week in Italian football so, as always, we turned to our friend Matteo Bonetti for his insights on the big talking points.
Inter win second trophy of the season thanks to world class Lautaro Martínez
Inter beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Wednesday in the final of the Coppa Italia mere months after demolishing rivals Milan to lift the Supercoppa. This run of form in cup competitions only further cements manager Simone Inzaghi’s reputation as an expert in these knockout situations. With his club only weeks away from facing Manchester City in the Champions League final (could this be an alternative treble?), Inzaghi tried out his full strength squad (at least out on pitch) against an offensively minded Fiorentina that has the second best possession stats in Serie A.
The Viola started the match in scintillating fashion with a beautiful low cross in the third minute by Jonathan Ikoné that picked out Nicolás González at the far post for the early goal. After that moment, Inter started weathering the storm put on by Fiore and absorbing their high press. World-class players make the difference in finals and it was Lautaro Martínez who had himself a half for the ages. The two goals he scored were a perfect example of what the Argentine does best. The first came from a surgically precise through-ball by Marcelo Brozović, which found Lautaro making his usual instinctive run in behind the defence. Viola centre-back Nikola Milenković wasn’t in line with the rest of his backline and was at fault for keeping Lautaro onside. From an acute angle, Martínez blasted the ball to the bottom corner at the far post. It was the finish of a striker who has bags of confidence. After all, he has scored 10 goals in his last 11 matches. Not even ten minutes later, Nicolo Barella looped a ball over the Fiorentina defence which Inter’s no.10 struck first time on the volley, right past the flailing arms of keeper Pietro Terracciano. It wasn’t just the goals though, Lautaro’s passing was as incisive as his finishing and movement. All of these traits, as well as his ability to dribble past his man, have shown just how great a striker Lautaro Martinez is when he’s brimming with confidence.
Inter will need a similar performance from Lautaro if they are to have any chance in the Champions League final. The good news is that all of the Nerazzurri skill players are hitting their best form together at the ideal time of the season. The Inter strikers figure they won’t have nearly as many clearcut chances against arguably the best team in Europe, so making the most of the few chances they have and showing off their clinical side will be key. At the moment, it seems like Edin Džeko is still favoured over Romelu Lukaku to start against City. Inzaghi has seemingly settled on this formula of bringing on Lukaku around the 60th minute of games and having him run at tired legs. Even though Lukaku should work better in a game where Inter will hit out on the counter and play mostly in a low block, Džeko’s ability to hold up play and come back to the midfield to help out in possession could be vital. He’s also one of the best headers of a ball in Europe, so Inter might try to make the most of their set piece chances rather than believing they will have a ton of success in possession.
Juve’s rollercoaster season
Juventus received their second point deduction of the season, after their first -15 point penalisation was overturned. They’ve now been given a -10 point penalisation, with only two rounds to go in Serie A.
The deduction once again sees Juventus drop out of the top four, meaning that a Champions League spot is currently out of their reach. The whole situation has been an accurate reflection for the way Juve’s season has gone – disjointed, inconsistent and ultimately disappointing. The whole situation has also annoyed fellow Serie A coaches like José Mourinho, who have admittedly changed their side’s approach to recent games owing to the fact that they thought a top four finish was no longer in their reach.
The Roma coach said: “It’s a joke to know this with two games remaining.
“For us and everyone, even for Juventus. Our approach would have been different if we had known before the games with Monza and Bologna. I am sorry for Allegri and his players, but at the league level, I have to say that it changes things a little.”
Juventus came into the 2022/23 Serie A campaign as one of two favourites to win the Scudetto, alongside Inter. The team started off woefully under Max Allegri given that expectation. They were knocked out of the Champions League group stage and consistently dropped points against relegation threatened teams. To make matters worse, the entire board unexpectedly resigned right in the middle of the World Cup which signalled ominous news on the horizon.
Shortly after, the “plusvalenze” scandal took centrestage and the punishments were handed out. With the ten point deduction now looking set in stone, Juve will have to have a long think about whether or not a rebuild is on the cards. Max Allegri’s style has not brought out the best in star players like striker Dušan Vlahović, who has struggled to find consistency. Not only that, but bowing out of European competitions means that Juventus could lose upwards of €90m not received from being in the most elite tournament in football. This means players on astronomically high wages could be cut. Players like Ángel Di María, Adrien Rabiot, Leandro Paredes and potentially even Vlahović could be sacrificed to try to balance the books.
A complete rebuild could be on the cards, with ageing players sent away in an effort to focus on the talented youth that Juventus already have on the books. What they do with the manager is the most interesting aspect of the off-season. Max Allegri is the highest earning “mister” in Serie A alongside Mourinho, but Juventus have had an involution given what the preseason expectations were. A change to a younger manager with more modern offensive ideas could be interesting. Names that pop up straight away are Roberto De Zerbi, who miraculously brought Brighton to a Europa League spot in the competitive Premier League, and Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano. Both managers have done wonders in transforming their squads into some of the most aesthetically pleasing footballing teams.
(images from IMAGO)
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