Roberto Mancini’s men kicked off the 2015-16 Serie A campaign with a late victory against Atalanta at the Giuseppe Meazza.
A last gasp stoppage time winner from new signing Stevan Jovetic helped the Nerazzurri on their way to a round one victory against Edy Reja’s men.
Despite rarely dazzling throughout the match, Internazionale created the bulk of the opportunities and eventually made it count, with Jovetic curling in a masterful strike from the edge of the box on a difficult angle.
A cause for concern for Mancini, however, would be the injury sustained to star striker Mauro Icardi, who had to be withdrawn from the encounter within the opening 15 minutes as he failed to shake off a pre-match knock.
Reja’s side, on the other hand, whilst obviously disappointed in losing out so late, made a good account of themselves and will be able to take many positives from the game going into next week’s clash against Serie A newcomers Frosinone.
Inter lacking creativity following Kovacic exit
Many have criticised Inter for allowing such a young talent in Mateo Kovacic to depart the club. Seen as one of the players the entire team could have been assembled around in years to come, as well as even now, the Croatian playmaker was sold to Real Madrid for €35 million.
And against Atalanta, Mancini was especially missing his qualities. Despite the team’s superiority against La Dea, Inter Milan failed to penetrate Reja’s structured defensive unit and forge enough opportunities to trouble Marco Sportiello in goal.
Prior to Carlos Carmona’s sending off in the 71st minute, Inter did not puncture their opponents’ defence in a manner befitting that of an aspiring top three side. Even following the aforementioned sending off, plenty of the side’s opportunities came from distance.
Out of the midfield quadrant that started: Gary Medel, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Assane Gnoukouri and Marcelo Brozovic, there was no genuine playmaker, and Hernanes had to be brought on after the break to inject some much needed creativity into the side’s play.
New boys looking good for Mancini
Following a busy offseason period in the transfer market, Mancini fielded three new arrivals in the starting XI in centre-back pairing Jeison Murillo and João Miranda, as well as midfield powerhouse Kondogbia, whilst Jovetic came off the bench to net the eventual winner.
The two South American central defenders excelled in their first competitive match for the club, whilst Kondogbia was one of the best performers on the pitch, offering plenty of quality both in defence as well as in attack. The Frenchman will be of vital importance this campaign in midfield, especially considering the aforementioned Kovacic’s departure to the Spanish capital.
Jovetic, on the other hand, whilst not starting, did score the only goal of the game. As well as this, he was one of the team’s biggest threats in attack and played with a terrific work ethic. It is yet to be seen whether Icardi’s spell on the sidelines will be a prolonged one, however with the Montenegrin up front, Mancini will have little to worry about.
What was on show from the new signings will fill Nerazzurri fans with hope and optimism, and an increased level of expectation will be placed upon the other new arrivals to perform at an acceptable level for the club.
Both defences looking uncharacteristically solid
In 2014-15, Inter’s defensive work provided some of the more comical moments of the season, whilst Atalanta shipped the fourth-highest amount of goals in the league (57). Come round one in 2015-16 at the San Siro, both sides put on show a commendable defensive display, something that is becoming less of an occurrence in the footballing world.
Despite Mancini starting with two new arrivals at centre-back, and Reja without the leadership qualities of Yohan Benalouane – who is now at Leicester City – at the heart of the defence, both sets of fans may have been anticipating a high-scoring affair.
Apart from the one slip up that led to a chance for Alejandro Gómez in the opening minutes for Atalanta, both sides looked assured and efficient at the back and perhaps this is a sign of things to come for the pair in Serie A.
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