When Simone Inzaghi left Inter Milan after the Champions League final last season, the Nerazzurri were thrown into disarray.
Inzaghi built a side that won six tophies in four years, including one Serie A title. Inter also reached two Champions League finals during that time. But there was still a feeling that Inzaghi could have won more with Inter.
That being said, it’s not like he did all this with a big budget. It was quite the opposite, in fact. Inter have wrestled with financial problems off the pitch, while Inzaghi ensured results away from the boardroom thrived.
But Cristian Chivu had to pick up the pieces in the summer. Inzaghi left Inter to manage in Saudi Arabia, following his side’s 5-0 defeat in the Champions League final.
The Nerazzurri are on a good run of form domestically under the Romanian. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 domestic games and sit 10 points clear at the top of Serie A.
But Chivu runs the risk of encountering the same problems as Inzaghi, where his success was brilliant but still left Inter fans wanting more.
The Nerazzurri face an uphill battle to save their Champions League season. They trail Bodo/Glimt 3-1 on aggregate in their knockout stage play-off and need a big turnaround at the San Siro.
In this article we’ll cover
Inter’s 3-5-2
Inzaghi’s tactics have not been scrapped. Chivu has largely kept things the same. Antonio Conte was the one to introduce the 3-4-3/3-5-2 formation to the Italian club and Inzaghi perfected it by adding more rotations and flexibility.
Looking at Inter’s games across the season, you can see why Chivu has kept things relatively the same. The 3-5-3/3-4-3 allows Inter to be flexible, sending four men forward to pin defences and release the full-backs into space. They still score many goals by getting the ball wide to Federico Dimarco, who can find teammates in the box through crosses or cutbacks.
When Inter build up in a 3-2, they still allow a centre-back to push forward to join the attack. But it also means that a midfielder can dart into the half-spaces or take the ball and charge forward. The shape stays the same, even if the players occupying the spaces don’t. It bamboozles the opposition.
Sometimes you see Marcus Thuram moving from a central role out to the wing, dragging his marking defender with him. This allows wing-back Luis Henrique to occupy the space he has vacated. Or he can stay wide to cause an overload and allow Davide Frattesi to bomb forward.
It helps that the Inter squad hasn’t changed too much from last season. They’ve also benefited from the fact that the other big clubs in Serie A have new managers and are finding their feet. And the fact that Antonio Conte continues to struggle to build on successes in his first season at a club.
Inter have cracked Serie A, but they’ll be disappointed if they are to go out early in the Champions League.
Can Inter overcome Bodo/Glimt deficit?
If Inter were to get knocked out of the Champions League at the play-off face, it would be a bitter disappointment. This team were finalists eight months ago.
While their defeats to Arsenal, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid in the group stage may have come from Chivu’s more timid apporach in Europe, those teams are also tough opponents for anyone.
Bodo/Glimt are a unique threat, through. The Norwegian side have an advantage in terms of trapping the ball, passing and working in areas that the opposition don’t know how. We saw that in their games against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter.
Chivu’s approach in Norway was brave. But the conditions negatively affected him. Both teams pressed high, so when Bodo/Glimt kicked the ball high up the pitch, they knew how to play past Inter’s press.
At the San Siro — under conditions that Chivu and his side will know — the same approach coupled with the atmosphere could be enough to turn a two-goal lead over.
Tensions were high in the post-game media with Chivu and Bodo coach Kjeti Knutsen exchanging opinions on Bodo’s pitch with Inter complaining well before the match about the artificial surface.
Nonetheless, they now have a lead to turn over and will hope they can use their tactics, ability from set-pieces and summon the noise of the San Siro to keep going in the Champions League.