Inter’s comeback victory against Como shows signs of evolution | OneFootball

Going into half-time in their match against Serie A table-toppers Inter, Como were threatening to leapfrog Juventus in fourth and blow the title race wide open by handing Inter a shock defeat. Ultimately, they were handed a stark reminder.

Marcus Thuram halved the deficit just before half-time before pulling his team level four minutes into the second half. A Denzel Dumfries brace then steered Inter into clear waters, before a late strike from Lucas Da Cunha from the spot made the scoreline more respectable for Cesc Fàbregas’ side.

This marked Como’s first defeat since February, when they lost to relegation-threatened Fiorentina. That alone shows how far Serie A’s most defensively solid team have come, though the defeat to Inter also shows how far they are yet to go.

The Lariani are currently fifth, two points off Juve in fourth, with second-placed Napoli only eight points ahead of them. With Milan in third having lost three of their last five games, Champions League qualification is by no means a bygone conclusion. That said, conversely, Roma (57 points) in sixth and Atalanta (53 points) in seventh are also not far behind.

While European football at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia next season looks highly likely, one thing that can be said definitively is that Inter have shed the late-season fragility that plagued them last term.

Even though they had a more humbling Champions League campaign this time around, which saw them get knocked out by Bodø/Glimt in the knockout play-off tie in sensational fashion, in Serie A the Nerazzurri have lost just five games all season. Their last two defeats in the league have arrived at the hands of local rivals Milan in March and November.

A nine-point lead at the top, along with a relatively easier run-in, ensures that there will be no late-season dropping of the title this time, and Inter shall retain their Serie A crown that they relinquished to Napoli last year.

Doubts were rightfully raised to the Inter hierarchy when they chose club legend Cristian Chivu as Simone Inzaghi’s successor in the dugout. Inzaghi was already a seasoned coach in the Italian top flight when he took over from Antonio Conte in 2021, while Chivu’s career as a coach of a senior team spanned barely half a year, having been given charge of Parma only in February last year.

That said, the Romanian had been in the Inter academy setup for six years prior to taking up the Parma job. Clearly, he left an impression, and it looks like the Beppe Marrotta-led sporting structure at the club, which hardly misses when it comes to managerial signings, has once again hit it out of the park by handing the reins of the team to a relatively inexperienced coach.

Inter are set to retake the Serie A crown. After some early hiccups in his reign, Chivu looks set to evolve this side out of its shaking boots for a period of prolonged Italian dominance. 

Anshuman Joshi I GIFN