However, if the match between Inter and Bayern during the opening matchday was anything to go by, that bloodbath will never materialize. Bayern were untroubled right from kick-off; they registered a 2-0 victory while not even playing anywhere close to their maximum level. Leroy Sané opened the scoring for Bayern in the first half before a Danilo D'Ambrosio own goal after the interval sealed the victory.
The result was never in doubt - indeed, even before the match even began, Inter were thoroughly overmatched in every conceivable area. In fact, Inter can count themselves somewhat fortunate to have lost by just two goals in light of Bayern's almost total superiority. Bayern and Barça are the two best club teams on the planet by an enormous margin; it's not even close.
What makes this especially galling is that this is quite possibly Inter's strongest team since their treble-winning team of 2010. This is an extremely well-rounded squad with quality at every position; Inter even made several important acquisitions during the off-season to further strengthen the squad. The arrivals of Robin Gosens, Joaquín Correa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Francesco Acerbi, and most notably of all, the returning Romelu Lukaku all appeared to make Inter not only the favourites to win Serie A, but also possible Champions League title contenders.
However, as things turned out, a season which began with so much promise for Inter might very well end up with no major titles at all. Domestically, the Serie A title race could very well be the most competitive title race ever. It figures to be a five-cornered fight with Juventus, Napoli, AS Roma, and reigning champions AC Milan all firmly in the mix. Juve's signings of Adrien Rabiot and Bremer have already made significant impacts. Though neither Roma nor Napoli made any major signings, both have significantly improved from last season. Despite losing Franck Kessié to Barça by way of a free transfer, Milan retained the majority of the core which landed them a first Scudetto in a decade.
As far as the Champions League is concerned, Inter were unfortunately drawn into by far the most difficult group this season - and arguably in the history of the Champions League. The sheer skill gap that separates Bayern and Barça from the rest of the pack cannot be understated. Barring knockout-round draw shenanigans, a Bayern-Barça final is by far the most likely outcome. Somehow, Inter had the misfortune to be placed in a group with not one, but both. Though Inter will almost certainly slip into the Europa League by finishing third in the group and subsequently be the overwhelming favourites to win that, the secondary continental tournament is surely not what the Nerazzurri had in mind when this season began. That said, should they end up there, only a tournament victory would be considered a success.
In just about any other year, this Inter team would have been receiving far more hype than it actually is. Spearheaded by the underrated Lautaro Martínez and featuring the likes of Denzel Dumfries, Nicolò Barella, Lukaku, and Federico Dimarco, Inter have the personnel and the strategic approach to take down almost anyone on their day. However, the key word is "almost" - though Inter are certainly one of the top 10 and arguably even top five teams in the world right now, the gap between them and the top three (Manchester City being the third) is simply too large to overcome. Additionally, though they may be favourites to reclaim the Scudetto they lost last season, the sheer number of contenders presents more opportunities for dropped points. It's not a lock by any means.
Of course, the possibility that Inter will have a highly successful mid-season transfer window and use it to pull away from the pack domestically still exists. However, either way, this season is shaping up to prove to be more difficult than what most Inter fans would have envisioned.
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