The latest edition of the Derby d'Italia saw Inter Milan maintain their two-point lead at the top of Serie A following a 1-1 away draw against Juventus. Dušan Vlahović gave Juve the lead after scoring in the 27th minute, only for Lautaro Martínez to equalize for Inter just six minutes later with his 13th league goal this season. The Argentinian striker is the runaway leader in this season's Capocannoniere race; his equalizing goal extended his lead over his nearest rivals to six.
Last season, Inter's league campaign certainly did not go according to plan. Finishing in third place, 18 points behind league champions Napoli, was a significant decline from the season before when the Nerazzurri were in title contention all the way up to the very last matchday. However, it wasn't all bad for Inter; they did make a somewhat unexpected run to the Champions League final where they lost 1-0 to Manchester City.
During the off-season, Inter underwent a significant squad overhaul. Notable names who left the blue half of the San Siro between seasons included Edin Džeko, Romelu Lukaku, André Onana, and Marcelo Brozović. Although Inter didn't spend heavily over the off-season, they certainly spent wisely. For a cumulative fee of less than €60 million, Inter added players such as Yann Sommer, Benjamin Pavard, and Francesco Acerbi to their roster. On top of that, Inter even landed Marcus Thuram on a free transfer from Borussia Mönchengladbach. This is how a roster overhaul ought to be done: one involving careful, judicious spending with a view towards players who would best suit the team. Inter have done exactly that.
The next point I'll bring up is one which I briefly alluded to earlier but merits further detail: the ascension of Lautaro Martínez to genuine superstar status. Ever since his dismal performance at the 2022 World Cup in which he contributed next to nothing to Argentina's eventual triumph, the man from Buenos Aires has been on a tear. Martínez finished last season with 21 league goals, placing him second behind Napoli's Victor Osimhen. Martínez has not only picked up where he left off; he has taken the next step - one which many assumed he might never have following his underwhelming showing in Qatar.
At this point, Martínez is clearly the best striker and arguably the best player in Serie A. He is now at the level where he could be the ace who not only spearheads a serious challenge for the Scudetto, but also another deep Champions League run - and if things break in Inter's favour, there is a possibility that they might even go all the way this time around. Martínez's exploits have gone somewhat under the radar this season because of the continued outstanding play of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham; however, at the rate at which he's going, everyone will soon have to take note of what Martínez has been doing at Inter.
That being said, the match against Juve did expose certain issues which could threaten to derail Inter's season. Inter's back three was not the most convincing against their opponents from Turin. Stefan De Vrij and Matteo Darmian were outplayed by Juve's attackers almost right from opening kick-off. It was, in fact, De Vrij's error that led to Vlahović's goal. Although Inter have thus far conceded a league-low seven goals this season, their backline has nonetheless shown the occasional lapse such as that against Juve. They definitely can't afford too many more instances like those as the season progresses.
Despite having had 66% of the possession, one could also fault Inter for being somewhat passive. Inter only attempted eight shots in the entire match despite almost doubling their opponents' time with the ball. There's no point in hogging all the possession if there would be no end product. Inter quite simply have to take charge once they have possession. There wasn't enough of that against Juve.
All that being said, the signs are generally pointing in the right direction for Inter Milan. This team has established itself as the early favourite to win Serie A after building off the momentum from last season's Champions League run. Although it remains to be seen if they can keep it going, these first few months have set the tone for what appears to be a bounce-back season in the league couples with another potential deep run in continental play.
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