Internazionale – Napoli: Subpar Showings From Scudetto Chasers (1-1)

The game was sold as a six-pointer, but Internazionale and Napoli were incapable of finding their fluency. Although the peaks of Inter are well known, where this Napoli team stands under Antonio Conte remains a mystery. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

Three weeks after ending an eleven-year wait for Scudetto victory, Antonio Conte abandoned the Champions amidst a difficult period in Inter’s finances. Simone Inzaghi did not just take on the legacy of that team, he surpassed it through his work. This was not just an important game in the title race, but a contest of whether Conte could still talk the talk amongst the best.

Under Inzaghi, this team is much more layered. The team is more fluid from deep buildup scenarios, consistently dangerous from set plays and can still be compact when needed. In Serie A, Inter has started to show more vulnerabilities in defensive transitions again; this does not change the fact that no Italian team can reach the peaks of Inzaghi’s structure.

After a terrible tenure at Tottenham, Conte was hired by Napoli with a reputation to restore. Despite them being on top of the standings, the sustainability of their approach looks unreliable. Their passivity off the ball was brutally exposed by Atalanta at the Maradona, as well as their on-ball plans: none of the Conte automatisms you would expect, but constantly trying to work one-twos with Romelu Lukaku, who has lost many assets to his game. Surely Conte would . . .