We saw what life without Lukaku looks like, as Inter defeated Parma 2-0. Goals from Brozovic and Vecino provided Inter the well deserved win.
While Lukaku was getting his medical with Chelsea, Inter were playing a friendly against the newly relegated Serie B side Parma. A couple of second half goals were enough for Inter to claim victory, as Inter dominated the match from start to finish.
Let’s look at some key points from the match.
That D –
Again, that defensive performance from Inter was the same as the previous season which is beautiful to see. Absolutely unbreakable at the back as De Vrij, Skriniar and Bastoni shut down any Parma chance that came their way.
Are these three the best defensive trio in the world right now? It would be very hard to argue with this as their understanding of each other is really coming into it’s own.
All three defenders add their own unique skill to the team. With De Vrij we saw that experience and professionalism shine through. If he makes a mistake, he has a goldfish memory so it doesn’t affect his game two minutes later.
With Skriniar, he brings that controlled aggression to the defence. He isn’t scared to make a 50/50 challenge in the box and also not afraid to give away a foul on the pitch if he sees an opponent attacking chance as a possibility.
Finally with Bastoni, he brings that youth and a fresh point of view as a defender. Many old school defenders just shut down attacks, however with Bastoni we have seen him play some crucial passes to our attacking players. He is really building into the complete defender.
If these three stay fit and healthy, then Inter will give the Scudetto a real challenge even without Hakimi and Lukaku.
The midfield is back!
Parma really struggled to create anything as the midfield dominated. Many chances were wasted, however it’s still only pre-season and we have a few weeks to work on this.
It was fantastic to see Barella, Brozovic and Sensi as Inter played close to their strongest side available. In the previous friendly we saw a one man show from Calhanoglu, but with him unavailable due to a muscular problem, we saw Sensi step up in that position.
We look good in that trequartista role as Sensi, Calhanoglu and possibly Eriksen later in the year all fit Inzaghi’s attacking profile positively. A lot of chances will be created for Inter throughout the season as Brozovic and Barella will work their backsides off as usual. They are the real engine of this Inter side.
All over the park, the hunger and effort to win the ball back was one of the most pleasing things. The team was exuberating confidence without being cocky, and the champion teams know how to keep this under control. As a fan, I loved what I saw in the squad!
Can wonderkid start?
The combination of Lautaro and Satriano looked decent, although we did miss a lot of chances. I think Satriano has the goods, but he’s still a season or two away from being ready to start for Inter.
Inzaghi will focus this year on getting him experience and I think bringing in Dzeko will only help the kid. Since Dzeko himself is a tall striker, this will allow him to teach Satriano the tricks of the trade.
Satriano was solid today and could’ve put himself on the scoresheet. A couple of headers almost found the back of the net and with more experience he’ll find a way to turn them chances into goals.
The last thing we don’t want to do is get ahead of ourselves and start comparing to others who have played in that position previously for Inter. However, the kid is showing a lot of promise and I can see the fire in his belly which all great strikers need.
We can only hope he is an absolute star!
As always, Forza Inter!
