For the second time this season, Inter got to spend a few hours at the top of the table. “I’m so happy,” Luciano Spalletti beamed. “Both for the performance and the result.” A 3-2 win against Sampdoria on Tuesday night maintained Inter’s unbeaten start to the season and in many respects, it was their best showing of the campaign.
For 70 minutes, Inter played at a level we haven’t seen for a long time. “A few of their directors were saying it was the best first half in four or five years,” revealed Samp manager Marco Giampaolo. Two-nil up at half-time, Inter scored again almost instantly after the interval. They hit the woodwork on three occasions, with Ivan Perisic coming very close to a goal from the halfway line.
Inter oozed confidence and, after 35 minutes, had done enough to earn the spontaneous applause of a hard-to-please San Siro crowd. It was quite the contrast with the Nerazzurri’s last midweek outing, a 1-1 draw in Bologna which left a lot to be desired. It followed a late win in Crotone where Inter had been grateful to goalkeeper Samir Handanovic for keeping them in the game long enough for them to find a breakthrough. Serious questions started to be asked of Inter and their credentials as title contenders. Seeds of doubt were scattered.
But here we are six weeks later and those seeds haven’t grown into anything. Another 3-2 win 10 days ago in the Milan derby now has the feel of a graduation. Since then, Inter have ascended to a new level under Spalletti amid increasing belief in their ability to have a big say in the title race.
As was the case at the start of the season when the fixture computer dealt Inter a tough opening two games against Fiorentina and Roma, October promised to be a major test of whether or not this team is for real, with Milan, Napoli and Samp coming one after the other. To say Inter passed would be an understatement.
They did so with distinction and, in all, count 13 points out of 15 against a mix of teams who form part of Serie A’s aristocracy and upper middle class. Watching Bologna’s recent three-game winning streak, you also re-evaluate the result Inter got at the Dall’Ara as better than it looked at the time.
Samp were no pushover either on Tuesday night. They did the double over Inter last season and ended Frank de Boer’s short spell at San Siro. Giampaolo got the better of Spalletti in both games against Roma. And the Blucerchiati travelled to Milan in form. Beaten just the once this season, they were sixth in the table with a game in hand and full of confidence after a 5-0 win at the weekend.
On paper this had all the makings of a trap-game for Inter. As much was clear in the second half when, shortly after Perisic hit the bar, they grew complacent and made the mistake of thinking it was all too easy for them. Inter faded - which is understandable when you consider Spalletti has named the same team three games in a row, less so when you remember they are not involved in European competition. Allaying those concerns is Inter’s ability to score late with regularity, a reminder of their general freshness from playing, for the most part, just once a week.
And besides Spalletti didn’t seem overly bothered that Samp won the second half 2-1 and could have equalised. He found it entirely normal, because Samp are a damn good team. With four goals conceded over the course of this three-game series, a pessimist might conclude the defence is creaking. But factor in the calibre of opponents faced. The occasion. And just how well Inter defended in Naples where they halted Napoli’s perfect start to the season in Serie A in an entertaining 0-0 and there isn’t much to be worried about.
Going into this matchday, Inter’s backline ranked level best with Napoli and Roma’s, and it’s the resilience of their rearguard that marks the starkest contrast with last season. Bought from Samp, Milan Skriniar has arguably been the signing of the transfer window in Serie A. He’s even made it OK for Inter fans to chant: “Forza Milan.”
The biggest surprise, though, is how Spalletti has turned Inter’s biggest weakness - the team’s full-backs - into something resembling a strength. Despite spending €20m on Dalbert and potentially €30m on Cancelo, the much maligned pairing of Yuto Nagatomo and Danilo D’Ambrosio continue to start and impress.
This is a measure of the work Spalletti is doing on the training ground. It’s one thing to help a youngster fulfil his talent. It's another entirely to teach old dogs new tricks.
The midfield is beginning to click, particularly with Matias Vecino finding his feet, driving upfield and giving Inter a change of pace. And then there’s Mauro Icardi, whose brace on Tuesday made it 11 goals in 10 games this season - his fourth year in a row in double figures.
By far Italy’s most improved team, Inter are 12 points better off than they were a year ago. This is their best start in 20 years. The question is: can they sustain it? Or will it all fall apart like it did in Christmas 2015? Might the Nerazzurri fade as Roma did in Rudi Garcia’s first season or, more recently, Napoli in spring 2016, so soon after being crowned winter champions?
It’s hard to imagine Inter wilting under Spalletti. He has won 50 of 67 games in the last 18 months. His teams are relentless and while Napoli and Juventus remain the favourites for the Scudetto, it’s refreshing to see Inter at least make a case for themselves to be included in that conversation.
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