Last season promised so much for Inter Milan, but in the end they fell short when it mattered most. Napoli ran away with the Serie A title, and although they did brilliantly to reach the Champions League final, they could not defeat Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning Manchester City. This year, things are different. Leading the way at home, they are favourites to lift the Scudetto trophy once more. Simone Inzaghi took a potentially great team from last season and has now turned them into something even better: the favourites to win the league.
Star Players – Key Strengths and Contributions
At the heart of this year’s success is their standout performer, Lautaro Martinez, while new arrival Marcus Thuram could replicate the importance of his father, Lilian, now he is at one of Europe’s historically biggest clubs. Martinez could easily end the season with a haul of more than 30 goals for the campaign.
Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryian and another creative player, Hakan Calhanoglu, are vital to breaking down the well organised Italian defences they will come up against in the next few months.
Vice captain Nicolo Barella remains a steady and calming presence in the middle of the pitch, this season making his 200th appearance for the team.
Emerging Talents – Ones to Watch
While much of Inter’s success rests on the experienced heads of players such as Alexis Sanchez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Yann Sommer, Stefan de Vrij and Marko Arnautovic, there is a fresh generation coming through to support and surpass them.
January signing Tajon Buchanan could be a vital part of the squad for the season run-in. The Canadian can provide defensive support, but at Club Brugge the 24-year-old wide player showed an aptitude to play up and down the flanks. That versatility could be crucial as the fixtures stack up.
Yann Bisseck, who scored his first goal for Inter on December 23 to grab a win against Lecce, was plucked from the Danish side AGF in the summer. Another younger player, Alessandro Bastoni, could be one of cornerstones of the Inter defence for the coming years if he fulfils his potential.
Tactical Approaches – Playing Style and Formations
Inzaghi was known for letting his goalkeeper last season, Andre Onana, use his ball-playing skills to advance forward in possession, giving Inter a spare central defender. That allowed the two wide centre-backs to push forward into the midfield in a 3-5-2 system.
That put the emphasis on the wide players such as Denzel Dumfries, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Cuadrado, and others such as Matteo Darmian and Benjamin Pavard to press up the pitch. Davy Klaasen, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkitaryan offer creativity and energy through the middle, with two of Marko Arnautovic, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez working dangerously in a pair.
Team Chemistry – Building Cohesion on and off the Field
Perhaps the best example of the team’s morale and spirit is how they dealt with a string of injuries over the first half of the season. New signing Benjamin Pavard was expected to be a huge influence but he quickly was on the sidelines with an injury. The team then saw players such as Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Juan Cuadrado, and Sanchez sit things out at various times. Missing key figures with hundreds of games to their name might have thrown off another set of players.
Simone Inzaghi, though, was able to marshall players like Bisseck and Carlos Agusto to fill in ably, while the former Manchester United right-back Matteo Darmian was capable of operating higher up the pitch. Overcoming injury problems to rout Udinese 4-0 in December is just one example of their strength.
Player Profiles – Comprehensive Overview
Vice captain Nicolo Barella is the heart of the Inter Milan side, who has played more than 200 games for the side, and was part of the most recent Inter side that lifted the Serie A trophy, with plenty of changes in personnel since then.
Lautaro Martinez had previously been linked with a move away to be a team-mate of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but after that chance fell away, he has established himself as a leader at Inter, keen to spend the coming years with the club. The 26-year-old scored 25 goals in 2021/22 and 28 the following season. With 18 already, this could be the first time in his career he scores more than 30 in a season.
Yann Sommer can’t be overlooked, either. When Andre Onana made the move to Manchester United, it had been suggested that David de Gea might move the other way. Instead, Inter targeted the experienced Swiss ‘keeper at Bayern Munich, and he has shown all the assuredness between the sticks that Onana has failed to display at Old Trafford.
Socios.com Partnership – Engaging Fans Beyond the Pitch
Socios.com allows Napoli and Inter Milan fans to earn Fan Tokens and use Fan Rewards to gain the chance of exclusive access to their side. Fan Tokens have allowed fans to get behind-the-scenes access to clubs, meet legends from their teams, check into games and choose not just their favourite players, but also take part in polls to pick things like first team kits and merchandise.
