Spalletti’s Inter need not hit the panic button at this early stage

Juventus, Napoli and Roma all managed to start the season as they mean to go on, with impressive away victories over Chievo, Lazio and Torino respectively. Inter were supposed to do likewise, but Luciano Spalletti’s charges were unable to find a way past a stubborn Sassuolo defence. Afterwards, the Tuscan tactician bemoaned the Mapei Stadium’s dreadful playing surface – and rightly so – but that alone was not the reason why the Nerazzurri struggled so badly against the Neroverdi.

Having deservedly gone in front thanks to Domenico Berardi’s 27th-minute penalty kick, Roberto De Zerbi urged his players to sit deep and look to hit their opponents on the counter attack. In truth, they never looked likely to score again from that point. Nor did they seem to be in any real danger of conceding a goal. La Beneamata’s failure to win the midfield battle in the early stages of the match is what ultimately cost them at least a point last night. Matías Vecino and Marcelo Brozović were outnumbered and overrun in central areas, while Lautaro Martínez failed to make an impact in his trequartista role.

Perhaps it was naïve on the coach’s part to give Lautaro the responsibility of filling in as an extra midfielder while also providing adequate support for Mauro Icardi in the attacking third. He is, after all, still adapting to life in Serie A. This is nothing that cannot be solved with a few small tactical alterations though. Torino at home next Sunday night provides the players with an excellent opportunity to get back on track and show everyone why many consider them to be viable contenders to steal the Scudetto from Juventus’ grasp.

One thing Inter cannot afford to do is start the match against Walter Mazzarri’s side as slowly as they did in Emilia-Romagna. The truth of the matter is that Sassuolo did not even have to work all that hard to gain a foothold in last night’s match. The slow tempo at which Inter seemed determined to play merely handed the initiative to them on a plate. Play at a higher tempo in the early stages next week and all will be forgiven. Fail to do so, and the San Siro faithful will become increasingly restless.

Spalletti seems to be content to stick with his tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation, at least for the time being. It is therefore crucial that he quickly remedies what went wrong against Sassuolo, especially given the fact Inter have already fallen behind their main rivals. There is of course no need to panic at this very early stage, particularly as the seven new arrivals must be given time to settle in. While it may be an exaggeration to call their upcoming encounter with the Granata a must win match, there is no doubt that serious questions will be asked of Spalletti and his players should they fail to win all three points.

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