Over the weekend, Inter managed to put an end to their disastrous week. The Nerazzurri managed to beat Chievo at Giuseppe Meazza 2-0 with goals from Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon.
Inter started the match with a 4-3-1-2 formation. Lucio was back next to Ranocchia, and Nagatomo was starting in the left-back position instead of Javier Zanetti. While, Il Capitano played in midfield, just in-front of Maicon.
This decision meant Thiago Motta had to start the match from the bench. Wesley Sneijder was also benched due to a minor injury, with Kharja taking his position as the Trequartista.
There were some tactical changes in the formation and huge differences were felt between this starting line-up and the line-up which was played against Milan and Schalke.
Nagatomo on left was a good choice, as Zanetti was free to play in midfield. And having Zanetti playing in front of Maicon is a huge advantage for the Brazilian, as he can attack more freely with Zanetti is covering for him at the back. This change in role between Zanetti and Maicon was always important at Inter and once again, it proved to be useful.
Cambiasso was playing close to the centre-backs. During the match against Schalke, Cambiasso had more attacking instructions rather than helping the defence. But this time he was playing more carefully and that was an important factor for Inter this weekend.
Kharja couldn’t prove himself as the attacking midfielder. Perhaps, Stankovic is a lot better at that position. But, Sneijder was introduced in the second half, as Kharja moved back into a defensive midfield position and Sneijder took his role as the trequartista.
Inter didn’t concede any goals during the match, but the defensive line weren’t at their best either. With Lucio and Ranocchia as the centre-backs, you would expect more from that defensive line.
Maybe we can review the role of defensive midfielders. Cambiasso, Zanetti, Stanokvic and Kharja. Inter players leave a lot of space between the attacking line and the defensive line. A space that allows the opponent to move freely in Inter’s half.
Perhaps Inter midfielders should try to apply some pressure on the opponent’s players! Chievo should be struggling to keep the ball when they are playing against Inter at Giuseppe Meazza, but this wasn’t the case and they were controlling the ball for long periods, as Inter’s defensive midfielders and defenders stood waiting for them to attack and didn’t try to apply any pressure at all.
If you have watched Milan or Barcelona recently, you would have noticed that their pressure starts from their strikers and their opponents barely manage to enter their penalty area. But in Inter’s case, the pressure from the defenders only begins when the opponents are about to enter the penalty area.
The full-backs tried to cross the ball on a number of occasions. But the fact that Pazzini was the only striker in the box, made it easier for Chievo defenders to head the ball away.
However, after the ball was cleared, there were no Inter players present to control the second balls. As I mentioned before, the gap between strikers and midfielders is too much, especially when Kharja was playing behind the strikers.
When a team is focusing on the full-backs and long crosses, there must be midfielders such as Sneijder, or Stankovic, or even Eto’o who can wait for the ball just outside the box.
Maicon once again proved that he is not finished yet. He is still good as an attacking threat but needs a lot of improvement in defensive line. Perhaps, Zanetti playing in front of him can solve this problem to some extent. On other hand, Nagatomo proved why Chivu shouldn’t be in the starting line-up anymore. The Japanese full-back was strong, fast and wise in both attacking and defensive roles and surely, he will start the match against Schalke on Wednesday.
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