The verdict on the pitch fully confirmed the values expressed in the championship. This Inter it is too strong, complete and solid for practically everyone in Italy (only the Juve demonstrated that they can withstand the shock wave) and deservedly lifted the first trophy of the season in local football.
After having essentially demolished the Lazio (also a team fresh from 4 consecutive victories in Serie A) showing flashes of total football (the action of the first goal by Thuram complete with a back-heel assist from Dimarco), in the final the Nerazzurri got the better of a tough and combative Napoli, defeated by the decisive goal from the usual Lautaro in added time.
Honorable mention for Simone Inzaghi, who with the trophy won in Riyadh became the coach with the highest number of triumphs in Super Cup at 5 (2 with Lazio and 3 in a row with Inter), overtaking true bench champions such as Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello stuck at 4.
A comment on the intersection of the results between the Super Cup and the last day of the championship is in order. Despite having won the eighth trophy in their history (as well as the third in a row), can Inter return fromSaudi Arabia with some legitimate “concerns”? Paradoxically the answer is “yes”.
With the peremptory 3-0 away victory at Via del Mare, the Juventus Of Allegri has temporarily overtaken the Nerazzurri at the top of the table, with the Beneamata recovering the match against Atalanta (not exactly a walk in the park), not played due to the Super Cup, at the end of February.
Some evoke a sort of “asterisk” unknown since the variable of the match to be recovered is now also being included in the exciting duel at the top between the Bianconeri and the Nerazzurri, with an eye already turned to the direct clash on 4 February at San Siro.
Our thoughts inevitably turn to what happened 2 years ago when the Nerazzurri were defeated in injury time against Bologna (a match remembered for Radu’s famous duck), failing to “overtake” Milan and with the scudetto which was then tinged with red and black.
Beyond this historical appeal, the true “problem” for the Nerazzurri lies in the fact that despite a simply fantastic season, certified by impressive numbers (best attack, best defence, Lautaro top scorer), Juventus has always remained attached to the Scudetto train and also thanks to the Super Cup it even managed to grab the solitary summit.
Last year the Napoliwith a roadmap similar to that of the Nerazzurri, had essentially created a void, putting an unbridgeable margin between itself and the others and starting a sort of title countdown well in advance.
The current situation, however, is extremely more complicated with the Bianconeri proving to be the real obstacle between the Nerazzurri and the second star. Furthermore, if at the end of a few weeks ago Juventus won mainly from “short-sighted” goals, finding decisive goals from sometimes unexpected protagonists, now the Old Lady can count on a Vlahovic in gran dusting who is taking center stage with his goals and has once again become decisive.
In such a close championship duel, the “details” will make the difference and this DV9 can shift the balance by proving to be the best Juventus “acquisition” of the season. Without forgetting a certain Yildiz, who literally exploded in this phase of the championship and became the Serbian’s ideal partner in the offensive department.
With the unknown “asterisk” on one side and the efforts of Champions on the horizon, Inter are waiting for a real tour de force, physical and mental, and they can’t make any mistakes; beyond the verbal skirmishes and the jokes about who is a guard and who is a thief and who runs away and who chases, the Nerazzurri and black and white they are now aware of the fact that even a championship played to the limit of perfection may not prove sufficient to get their hands on the championship.
Enrico Paci, January 23, 2023
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