View from the Opposition: Inter

With just a few hours to go until Roma and Inter commence hostilities at the Stadio Olimpico, Milan-based Corriere dello Sport journalist Andrea Ramazzotti gives us the inside track on the highs and lows of Inter’s season, revealing which Giallorossi player he thinks Roberto Mancini’s side should be most wary of…

We're 29 games into the Serie A campaign now. What have you made of Inter’s season so far?

“It’s tough to sum up the Nerazzurri’s season in one go because it’s split between a really positive start and a less successful recent period. The first four months were really very good and exceeded all the pre-season expectations, because the side looked to be challenging for the title and were in first place for so long, right up until Week 18 on 6 January. However, since then there’s been a drastic drop-off in which Inter have picked up just 15 points in 11 games, meaning the side has fallen down the table to its current standing of fifth. They have 54 points from 29 games, leaving them 13 off Juventus at the top of the table.

“Considering the season as a whole, if I had to give Inter’s season a mark out of ten it would be a 6.5. At the beginning of the season Inter wanted to get back into Europe and even if they don’t qualify for the Champions League it would still be a positive sign to be in the Europa League next season.”

How have the summer signings fared and what's your assessment of the club's work in the January transfer window?

“Twelve new players joined Inter in the summer with contrasting levels of success. Two of the best have certainly been defenders Miranda and Jeison Murillo – the Brazilian has definitely been Inter’s best signing of the season. Croatian winger Ivan Perisic has also done well, despite having some ups and downs along the way. He’s shown he can become an important player for Inter. Another player improving week on week is French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, who joined in the summer for a large fee.

“Stevan Jovetic was certainly the signing around whom the expectations were highest, but after a good start his performances have been in a state of constant decline. Neither Alex Telles nor Felipe Melo have done great either, failing to live up to expectations, while Adem Ljajic has alternated some excellent performances with other less noteworthy showings.

“Former Sampdoria striker Eder was signed in January to give Roberto Mancini’s side a boost up front but so far he’s failed to score in eight appearances in all competitions. As well as that, Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic – who in fairness joined in January 2015 but is still relatively new – is attracting the attention of many big European clubs with the level of his performances, despite having a slightly inconsistent streak.”

Who has been Inter’s best player so far?

“The goalkeeper, Samir Handanovic, because he’s been decisive in several games. In my eyes if Mancini’s side hadn’t had the Slovenian goalie they would have much fewer points than they do.”

What has been Inter’s best performance of the season and why?

“I’ll go with the 1-0 win over Roma back at San Siro earlier in the season. At that point Inter were on top form and performing excellently. It was a flawless, well-organised performance – they were really compact and secured an important win thanks to a goal from Chilean midfielder Gary Medel.”

What has been the worst match and what went wrong?

“I’ll have to mention two. The first was the 4-1 home defeat by Fiorentina at the end of September. The whole match was undermined by serious mistakes from individual players, to the extent that by the 30-minute mark the Nerazzurri were already three goals behind and down to ten men. The other one was the 3-0 derby defeat to AC Milan on 31 January. It was a bad defeat – Mancini’s side weren’t good enough and there were more individual errors too.”

Which areas of the team have been the most and least effective so far?

“The defence has been the strongest area of the team, especially in the first part of the season. Regardless of the downturn in performances at the start of 2016, the Nerazzurri backline is still the third-best in Serie A with 27 goals conceded in 29 games. On the flipside, the attack has underperformed thus far. With 39 goals scored, Inter’s forwards have found the net at least ten times less than those of Serie A’s top four teams. [Mauro] Icardi has scored 12 goals but they were expecting more from him from a goalscoring perspective, as they were from Jovetic, Ljajic and Perisic.”

Which side in Serie A has impressed you the most this year?

“Obviously Juve’s run of 18 wins in 19 games shows that they’re incredibly strong and therefore it’s impossible not to point to them. But taking into account the quality of the squads I’d say the team I’ve been most surprised by is Napoli. Despite not having as good a squad as Juve and Roma, they’re having a fantastic season and performing to their best. At the beginning of the season I didn’t believe Maurizio Sarri was capable of conveying his ideas to the players and transforming them into Scudetto contenders in such a short space of time.”

How do you rate Roma under Luciano Spalletti?

“I think that under the new boss Roma are playing like the Roma we expect – their performances are now in line with the fantastic squad they have. I think Spalletti has brought an air of calmness back to the club, establishing clear rules for the group and instilling great self-confidence within the players. In my eyes the Giallorossi are going to keep improving until the end of the season and they’ll certainly qualify for the Champions League. In fact, I’m saying that Roma will have a top-drawer season next time around.”

Which Roma player should Inter fans fear the most?

“In my opinion the Giallorossi’s squad can cause Mancini’s side problems, especially on the wings. As a result I think Mohamed Salah is the man to fear for Inter. Given the problems the Nerazzurri full-backs seem to have in one-on-ones, I really think the Egyptian can give Yuto Nagatomo a really hard time on that right wing.”

If you could add one Roma player to Inter’s squad, who would you pick and why?

“If I were Mancini I would take Salah because the Inter boss needs a right winger for his 4-3-3 formation. Having said that, if he were fully fit I’d choose Kevin Strootman, because he’s a player that would improve any team in midfield.”

What's your score prediction for Saturday's match?

“Roma are the favourites, given their squad and the fact that they’re coming into the game off eight straight wins. Of course, anything can happen, but it’s worth remembering that apart from the win over Roma earlier in the season Inter have always struggled against the big teams this year.”