The reigning champions of Serie A, Inter Milan, get their title defence up and running at Genoa on Saturday evening as they look to claim successive titles for the first time since a run of five between 2005 and 2010.
By Nathan Evans
For Simeone Inzaghi’s side, it’s been an interesting summer, one of adding a few extra players to the mix in order to round out what is arguably still the best squad in the league. The stand-out permanent additions are central midfield Davide Frattesi, who returns to the club after making 42 appearances while on loan across all competitions last term, and left sided player Carlos Augusto who arrives from Monza for a fee of around €13 million.
But some depth has been lost at the same time and with it, plenty of experience. The most significant departure coming in the form of Alexis Sánchez who has returned to boyhood Italian club Udinese on a free transfer after making 142 appearances for Nerazzurri across two spells with the club.
That shouldn’t prove too detrimental for Inter though, both overall this campaign and in this opening matchday clash with Genoa, with whom they currently hold a ten-match unbeaten run against in Serie A. With eight of those results coming as victories and with the side from Northern Lombardy winning each of their last five matchday one outings in Italy’s top-flight, the stage is set for them to make the perfect start to their title defence.
Genoa will have something to say about that however, and on home soil they’ll pose plenty of different threats for the Inter defence to deal with, especially as they won each of their last three home outings to end last season. The hosts eventually finished in 11th spot during the 2023/24 campaign overall and it must be said that the club’s board have reacted to that in a positive manner, as they look to push towards the European spots this time around.
Vitinha has joined from Marseille for a hefty fee for a club of this size and he should pack a punch upfront for Alberto Gilardino’s outfit, whilst the acquisitions of Morten Thorsby and Koni De Winter bring some much-needed extra quality into the fray down the spine of the team.
They’ll need to be at their very best to claim any form of positive result in this opening outing of the new Serie A season, but visiting Inter shouldn’t be expecting a walk in the park, by any stretch of the imagination.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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