Inter would run riot in the second half to secure a 6-2 win at home against Crotone. We would see Lukaku and Lautaro (Lula) combine for four goals in a strong showing from the pair.
Conte is the first Inter coach to win eight in a row since Mourinho in the 2008/09 season. Even though Contes’ Inter is not playing exceptional football, Inter somehow get the 3 points which is most important.
Let’s look a bit further into the key points from the match.
Man of the Match –
Even though Lautaro scored the first hat-trick of any Inter player for over two seasons, the Man of the Match went to someone different today.
Romelu Lukaku was involved in absolutely everything positive which Inter did against Crotone. The beast upfront had some exceptional hold-up play, and his distribution was World Class.
Lukaku took his goal fantastically today, as he bullied Luperto then smartly deceived Cordaz to put the ball in the back of the net.
We saw a masterpiece performance from both strikers today as Lula put on a show.
Fingers crossed the injury to Lukaku isn’t a serious one, as Inter will need him for the next few fixtures coming up.
Credit where credit is due –
The score was 2-2, it was half time and Vidal was having a very up and down match. Until that point, Vidal had won the ball in the midfield which led to an Inter goal and also had given away a stupid penalty.
Conte would recognise this midfield was not working, so he did what any coach being paid the big bucks should do, which is make a substitution.
The injection of Sensi for Vidal would change the game for Inter, as the score-line quickly went from 2-2 to 6-2 in Inter’s favour.
In previous matches Inter fans have been critical of Conte. This hate was definitely warranted after Inter bombed out of the Champions League.
However, we must give credit where it is due. Conte has now taken this side to eight wins on the trot which no manager since Mourinho has done. Conte built this squad to win the league, and right now Inter is in a great position to do that.
Inter supporters have been patient for many years now, so we can only hope this is the year!
The unsung heroes –
In a match where Inter’s strike-force stole all the headlines, there were a couple of players who deserved a shoutout.
One of my favourite quotes is “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying. To the best you can do everyday.”
The two warriors of this Inter midfield – Barella and Brozovic epitomise the above quote in every single match they play for Inter.
These two players run box to box, and never give up for this black and blue jersey. In the match against Crotone, Brozovic and Barella were the key in stopping the oppositions attacks on many occasions.
This change of possession then put Inter on the front foot in attack, and gave the opportunity for our strikers to bang in some goals.
Where to next?
Inter will head a couple of hours south to take on Sampdoria. In what should be an interesting match-up, Inter will want 9 wins in a row.
Over the years there has been some classic matches between these two teams. The most memorable was back in 2005 when Inter were victorious 3-2 at the death.
In the last 3 fixtures between these two teams at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Inter have scored 9 goals and only conceded 1. On paper this matches up to be an Inter win, but as we know games aren’t decided on paper.
Prediction: Sampdoria 1 – 4 Inter
Written by Matthew Pickham
