Inter Milan currently sit fourth on the table with essentially nothing to play for in their remaining games, though so much more could have been made of this season.
The ultimate aim for Roberto Mancini’s side prior to the campaign’s opening was a top three finish. To be fair, the Nerazzurri are not far off, however, the manner in which they fell away is cause for great disappointment among Interisti, as well as senior figures at the club.
A lot of investment was put into shaping the squad to the manager’s liking. 10 new faces came through the doors and despite the sale of Mateo Kovacic in order to balance the books, the Milanese club currently boast one of Serie A’s strongest playing rosters.
Despite the undoubted talent though, it is certain that Mancini’s side has failed to achieve its goal for 2015-16. There were several moments throughout the term where it appeared Inter were well on course to satisfy expectations, but failure to win in key games and inconsistency against lesser sides has plagued them.
Outside90’s Frank Garassi takes a look at some of the key fixtures that compounded Inter’s season and caused them to slip away in underwhelming fashion.
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Round 6 – Inter 1 Fiorentina 4
At the summit of the table looking down at the rest of their rivals, Inter were on 15 points with five wins from as many games. The Viola themselves had emerged victorious from four of their first five, gaining many plaudits along the way for their open, attractive style of football.
Heading into the clash, many expected it to be a tight but extremely competitive encounter. Many were wrong.
Within the opening 25 minutes, Paulo Sousa’s side had already taken a 3-0 lead through Josip Ilicic and Nikola Kalinic. Less than 10 minutes later, new signing João Miranda was given his marching orders for a foul as last man.
Despite an improved second-half performance that restricted the away side to just one goal, the Nerazzurri received their first loss of the season, and one that sent shockwaves throughout the rest of the league.
With Inter renowned for their stringent and resolute defensive unit, Fiorentina exposed the blueprint as to how best puncture the side’s defence. Prior to this encounter, Mancini’s men had conceded just once. That tally multiplied by five following this match, and it served as a huge reality check for Inter Milan and severely depleted the side’s confidence in future fixtures.
Round 17 – Inter 1 Lazio 2
In the final Serie A match of 2015, Inter lost out in yet another critical home clash. Stefano Pioli’s underachieving side was the one to inflict misery this time, in a game that saw the Nerazzurri lose their way.
Winning six of their last seven in the league and again sitting atop the standings they went into this encounter with form on their side. Lazio, meanwhile, were languishing in mid-table in 10th place.
The Biancocelesti took the lead after five minutes through Antonio Candreva. Club captain Mauro Icardi equalised shortly after the break, and Inter were looking most likely to take the lead before the away side was awarded a late penalty. Candreva stepped up and, although it was saved at the first attempt by Samir Handanovic, was hit home on the rebound.
Shortly after, Felipe Melo was sent-off for a horror challenge on Lucas Biglia, in an act that his manager described in the post-match press conference as one that had ruined Christmas. Following this match, rumours circled of unrest in the dressing room between Mancini and his charges.
It was a key result that left Inter stewing about it over the break, and they never seemed to recover their form and defensive stability following that clash. It did not take long for them to drop in the standings shortly after.
Round 22 – AC Milan 3 Inter 0
The result speaks for itself. It was a demoralising defeat at the hands of their eternal rivals, in their own stadium.
With only one win since the turn of the year, Inter went into the clash in low spirits in comparison to Siniša Mihajlovic’s men. The Rossoneri were in a rich vein of form, and the ensuing performances from both sides symbolised their contrasting fortunes at that point in time.
Alex put AC Milan ahead early with a towering header, though Icardi had the chance to equalise from the spot midway through the second half. The Argentine’s spot-kick cannoned off the post, and Mihajlovic’s side doubled the lead mere moments after through Carlos Bacca.
M’baye Niang completed the rout and capped-off a terrific individual performance with Milan’s third to sink the Nerazzurri and inflict further woe on a team that had led at the end of eight Serie A rounds – the most out of any team at that stage.
Round 25 – Fiorentina 2 Inter 1
The second meeting with Sousa’s side proved just as influential as the first.
Inter were enduring a torrid time in the league, while Fiorentina were excelling in third place. They had the chance to reclaim this spot with a victory over the la Viola, though they ended up losing late.
Marcelo Brozovic got the Nerazzurri off to a good start at the Stadio Artemio Franchi as he capped off a fine Inter move. Borja Valero equalised for the hosts in the second-half though, and the match appeared as if it was destined for a draw.
With Mancini’s side down to 10 men after Alex Telles was harshly sent-off, Fiorentina bombarded Handanovic’s goal. In stoppage time, Khouma Babacar finally got the best of the Slovenian, much to the frustration of Inter. Mauro Zárate was dismissed for a tangle with Jeison Murillo and Geoffrey Kondogbia also saw red after the final whistle for the San Siro side.
This result was key as it saw Fiorentina increase their distance from Inter, as well as allowing AS Roma to overtake the Nerazzurri.
Round 31 – Inter 1 Torino 2
Improved performances and results saw Inter regain momentum in their hunt for an unlikely, but still achievable, top three berth.
Their next opponent was 13th place Torino at the San Siro – not such a significant threat but a potential banana-skin nonetheless. It proved to be just that in another encounter that saw Inter lose discipline and allow the result to slip away from them.
Icardi put his side ahead from the spot and Inter looked good value for their lead as the first-half ended. A complete turnaround from Giampiero Ventura’s men, however, saw Cristian Molinaro and Andrea Belotti score second-half goals to condemn Inter to another season without Champions League football (not mathematically at this stage). Miranda and Yuto Nagatomo were exposed in defence and sent-off in the process.
This defeat all but consigned Inter’s hopes of a top three finish and ended an impressive league run.
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