What should Atletico Madrid expect from Inter? We’ve asked our friends at Football Italia for a preview of the Serie A champions-in-waiting ahead of their Champions League meeting with the Colchoneros.
The Current Situation
It’s not hard to sign the praises of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter this season; they’ve looked a team reborn since their Champions League final loss to Manchester City last term, being a far more decisive and punishing squad in their quest for glory.
The Nerazzurri have been almost flawless in Serie A this season, dropping points just four times across 28 matches, with only one of those occasions being a loss. They hold a 16-point lead with 10 games left to play and have all but guaranteed their 20th ever Scudetto.
Inter are now able to place full focus on Europe’s premier club competition, where they’re clearly looking to complete some unfinished business after last campaign’s second-place finish. They completed a controlled and quiet group stage but now the gloves are off in the knock-out stages.
Inzaghi’s squad are in fine form, having won their last 10 consecutive league matches, and all of their core stars are fully fit, with the only real absences being backup options Marko Arnautovic, Carlos Augusto, Stefano Sensi and Juan Cuadrado.
What to expect from the drawing board – Simone Inzaghi
Inzaghi’s Inter have a defined and efficient game plan that they’re unlikely to stray from in their trip to the Spanish capital – they’ll line up in a 3-5-2 formation, with a focus on lightening fast transitions, punishing counter-attacks and dynamic work from their central midfield trio.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu will all play key roles in the match, able to switch focus from hard-working defensive efforts to punishing attacking moves at the blink of an eye. Wide options like Federico Dimarco, Matteo Darmian and Denzel Dumfries add width as they overlap and charge down the flanks.
Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram will certainly lead the line at the Civitas Metropolitano, and they need no introduction at this point, having displayed their deadly abilities up and down the Italian peninsula this term.
Lining up in front of the reliable Yann Sommer will likely be the defensive trio of Alessandro Bastoni, Benjamin Pavard and Francesco Acerbi, who have already proven to be one of the strongest three-man backlines in world football this season.
Players that might catch your eye
Whilst he is the obvious choice, there’s no denying that Lautaro is one of the best players in European football this year, having shined game after game; in his 25 Serie A appearances this campaign, he’s scored 23 goals and provided four assists, forming a dangerous partnership with Thuram.
The Argentine star is not just the finisher in Inzaghi’s system either, willing to drop back to help link up play and involve his teammates, growing into a complete centre forward. In another era, Lautaro would’ve likely been celebrated in the same style as legends like Gabriel Batistuta, Marco van Basten and Ronaldo.
A stat to keep in mind
15. Inter haven’t suffered defeat in their last 15 games across all competitions, last falling to Thiago Motta’s Bologna in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 back in late December. As such, Atletico will have to dig shockingly deep to try and find a way through the Nerazzurri and their 1-0 aggregate advantage.
