With Inter preparing for the second part of the campaign, Richard Hall highlights the five key players in their 4-0 win over RB Salzburg last week.
With the World Cup in Qatar occupying most of the globe, Inter were preparing for the return of the Serie A season in Malta, as they took on RB Salzburg this past Wednesday.
The Nerazzurri secured a comfortable 4-0 with goals came courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Francesco Acerbi, Valentin Carboni and an own goal from Bernardo. With Italy not featuring in the World Cup, it allowed most of the Nerazzurri squad to be present and it was an important test to give Simone Inzaghi an idea of how the team were doing before they face Napoli on January 4.
Who were the best players in the game, and what did they show?
Samir Handanovic may have been ousted as Inter’s No.1 since Andre Onana arrived in Milan. However, the Inbrutalaptain showed that he is still more than capable. Not only did he keep a clean sheet, but he also made superb saves that kept Salzburg at bay. The best came when a shot was deflected off Milan Skriniar, the ball was heading to the top corner, but the veteran custodian showed his cat-like reflexes and tipped the ball over the bar. It was a sublime piece of goalkeeping that should make Inter try their best to keep him in January.
Roberto Gagliardini often gets a hard time from the Inter fans or, even worse, gets no press at all. Against Salzburg, he was at the heart of everything in the first half and whilst he may not have been scoring thirty-yard strikes or dribbling around four players, he showed his class. His ability to play the ball through in tight spaces helped the team build pressure immeasurably. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to show the same in the second part of the season as his contract runs out in June and several Serie A clubs are said to be interested in securing his services.
Federico Dimarco has arguably been the best player for Inter this year as he has almost redefined what the modern full-back role is. The Italian defender has set Serie A alight this campaign. Assists were the name of the game against Salzburg and he was deadly on the left, providing for ‘Mki’ and in short, simply terrorising the opposition. His set pieces always caused problems and there is no doubt that this break has left no question that he is ready for the season to restart. It looks the enforced break has not crushed his enthusiasm and form.
Talking of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, it was fascinating to see how much of a role he could play in the second half of the season, as he was excellent against Salzburg. Many looked confused when Inter brought him to Milan. However, he seems to have replaced the missing creative need that Christian Eriksen so well filled. He put his name on the scoresheet, but more than that, he was everywhere and the Salzburg contingent could not contain him. He was unlucky not to get another goal when he couldn’t reach a header and was at the beginning of almost every Inter move. It feels like he has found a home in Milan and may not simply be a secondary player but a solid first team member in the coming months.
Finally, yet not least, Valentin Carboni needs to be mentioned in despatches. This young Argentine attacking midfielder needs to be watched out for. Son of Ezequiel Carboni, formally of Catania, he now plays for Italy’s U21 and is a natural talent. He scored a goal against Salzburg and showed he could break into the first team in the coming years.
Inter also have friendlies against Real Betis and Reggina before the campaign starts again. The Nerazzurri beat Atalanta before the break but had not started well and are 11 points below table leaders Napoli, their next opponent in Serie A.
The start has been slow, the Nerazzurri still have time to recover but are aware that there is no more room for mistakes. When the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku and Marcelo Brozovic are back, Inzaghi will finally have all his stars available, something that was not always possible in the first part of the season when the Belgian striker played just five games, while the Croat was forced to miss more than a month of action due to a muscle injury. The path to glory is still long, but the friendly win against Salzburg showed the Nerazzurri are ready to start again.
@RichHall80