STADIO GRANDE TORINO (Turin) – It was a game that probably never should have gone ahead, but Inter managed to overcome the conditions and their bogey side Torino to end their five-game winless run against the Granata on Saturday evening.
In doing so, the Nerazzurri also kept within touching distance of Juventus at the top of the Serie A table, moving onto 34 points from the 39 available so far, just one shy of Juve’s 35.
It’s a start that Inter have never bettered in the top flight. With 11 wins from their opening 13 matches, Antonio Conte is already making history at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. In fact, only in 1950/51 have they managed as many wins from the first 13 games of a campaign.
Inter managed to come through a downpour with three points on a miserable night at Torino and @ConJClancy was there for #FIFattheGames.
Report ? https://t.co/a5nYfa7YoT#TorinoInter #SerieA pic.twitter.com/ui3bdZIRev
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) November 23, 2019
Laukaku keep firing
Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring with little more than ten minutes played on Saturday, and Inter getting their noses in front helped them to see themselves through what could have otherwise been a tricky visit to Piemonte.
The Argentinian was excellent, and his withdrawal was greeted by a ripple of applause from around the Stadio Olimpico, including some Torino-following members of the press.
He now has eight goals in the opening 30 minutes of games in 2019/20, and his Serie A tally has hit six, which is as many as he managed through the entirety of 2018/19.
His other half, meanwhile, has hit the ground running since landing in Italy. Romelu Lukaku is already into double figures in Serie A, with ten goals from his 13 games. Only Stefano Nyers, in 1948/49, has been so prolific in the first third of a season as a newcomer.
Sharing the goals
With 11 goalscorers this term, nobody shares the goalscoring responsibility quite like Inter do.
Stefan de Vrij became their 11th by doubling the Nerazzurri’s lead in Turin, and his own personal contribution in attack is also impressive.
The goal was his first of 2019/20, but he also has three assists to his name, which is more than any other defender.
Defensively, too, his contribution is telling, operating at the heart of Conte’s three-man defence with Milan Skriniar and Diego Godin on either side.
It’s not just a good start
Conte was quick to remind the press that the season is still young in his post-match press conference, but is it?
We’re now a third of the way through the campaign and despite Conte’s insistence that “it’s just the beginning, it’s just the beginning,” Inter are in a position from which they should challenge for the title.
With Lukaku and Lautaro up top and De Vrij, Skriniar and Godin at the back, they have an initial XI that has the quality.
Their depth will be tested though and that’s perhaps the one question mark still hanging over Conte’s Inter.
Safety matters
The weather on Saturday should have seen this game pushed back. The conditions weren’t playable, the ball was barely moving and by the second half each step taken caused a splash.
It’s hard to comprehend why the game started, or why the pitched wasn’t inspected at the break, but the injuries to Andrea Belotti and Nicolo Barella will be worth noting in terms of their severity, and referee Fabio Maresca might have some questions to answer form both sides should they prove serious.
