Irregardless of the result, I was satisfied with our first half, mainly because we had managed to remain compact on the field and not to give Lazio spaces to attack in transition. As a consequence, most of their plays had resulted in shots from outside the box or crosses from the flanks. Sure, they could have scored inside the first ten minutes, but that would have been the result of a moment of brilliance by Milinkovic and that goes beyond tactics. I was particularly pleased because Lazio didn't seem to show the same tactical discipline, letting themselves being caught on the counter on several occasions (one of which led to our goal). The plan for the second half was simple: stay focussed, maintain the distances between the lines, let them come forward and be ready to spring forward whenever they turn the ball over.
Unfortunately, we conceded almost immediately, and the plan went down the drain. I must say that I'm a bit sorry because he's an interista and all, but Padelli has been dreadful so far. If you also consider the game against milan, he basically had to face seven shots requiring a more than decent level of goalkeeping skills. 4 went past him (3 of which almost comically), 2 hit the woodwork and one he saved. Moreover, he really doesn't transmit a sense of confidence to his defenders. How many times have we seen him leave the goal to go punch away/collect a ball only to be beaten to it by a defender? Either he doesn't "call" it (lack of communication) or they simply don't trust him to do his job. Today's first goal was the result of one of those short circuits, with Skriniar trying to clear the ball away with a lunging volley and both Godin and de Vrij forced to resort to desperate measures in order to protect the empty goal.
As I said above, our midfield was better than theirs in the first half in terms of collective organisation, but lost intensity as the game went on. Saying that Lazio dominated us is a ridiculous statement. Our lead lasted too little for us to really take advantage of it, and afterwards the game was pretty much on a balance until they found the second goal which, again, was the result of a scrappy play inside our box. Then came Conte's subs, which I found highly questionable to say the least. Especially considering that we ended up playing Barella as RCB and that Brozovic was subbed off despite being arguably our best player until that moment (it was either him or Young). Eriksen inspired two chances in his brief time on the pitch, but often seemed to walk nonchalantly about the field when the moment required a much more energetic approach. In fact, I'm really disappointed at how the team looked disheartened and almost resigned to the defeat in the final 10 minutes. Shocking. And unacceptable. Vecino and Candreva had their usual games: some good plays alternated with some asinine ones. Moses hardly had any time to do anything.
Lukaku had an overall decent game, especially with regards to link-up play. On a few occasions, though, his teammates didn't look like they were on the same wavelength. Lautaro had a few good plays, but was generally very off. Alexis was given only 5 minutes and played kilometres away from Lazio's goal. Hard to expect anything from him under such premises.
100% agreed.
The first half was excellent. I was thoroughly impressed at how we came to Rome and played with authority. We didn't let the occasion get to us and we defended with composure.
The second half was a complete turnaround and a total sucker punch. The team let themselves down with that second 45 minutes.
I do agree that we weren't particularly tormented for the most part. Both their goals came from odd circumstances.
On individuals: it saddens me to say that Skriniar still looks like a complete clown in this 3 man defence. There was a moment in the first half where there was a high ball in a relatively non-threatening situation. While waiting for it to come down, Skriniar paced forward, then kind of skipped back, then made another move towards it, paused, then eventually let it bounce in the space between himself and Milikovic-Savic. The whole time I was watching him just thinking, "...what the fuck are you doing?"
He's been shaky ever since we changed to this formation, but his hesitation and insecurity has been absolutely palpable these last two games against Lazio and Milan. It bothers me to see him getting physically dominated by the likes of SMS and a 46 year old Ibrahimovic. I find myself drawing unhelpful mental comparisons of Skriniar being bullied by Ibrahimovic, and of Lucio/Samuel absolutely demolishing these physical beasts like a prime Ibrahimovic and Drogba.
As for Padelli, I've tried to be rational and realistic in my thoughts towards him, but the truth is harsh - as are the reality and demands of top, top level football. You can argue that many keepers wouldn't have saved the goals against Napoli or the ones we conceded today. I'd say that the best keepers always have this intangible ability to occasionally make great saves, and you just don't have that same chance with Padelli. They might've been difficult shots, but Ibrahimovic, Ruiz and SMS's goals were all saveable. (Let's not even speak of Rebic's goal.)
Feel free to disagree, but what everyone can agree on is that the defenders don't trust him and there is a clear unease whenever Padelli is called into action. It's as if the whole stadium is waiting for him to make a mistake. Everyone can feel it. To make matters worse, this distrust or lack of communication directly leads to bullshit like their penalty.
A similar incident happened in the first half with de Vrij making an unnecessary clearance due to either a lack of communication from Padelli, or a lack of dependability. Speaking of de Vrij, I thought he had a very good first half. In the final 30 minutes of the game, he started falling apart but it's not right to point the finger at him as a primary culprit. I did feel though, that he didn't involve himself with as much "playmaking" as he usually does. Normally, he likes to bring the ball out of defence or play long balls, but there was almost none of that today. Perhaps that was due to some mental pressure from the Lazio fans howling at his every touch.
I thought Godin was generally very good in the first half with the exception of a few missed passes. As the second half went on though, like de Vrij and Skriniar, his confidence and solidity started dissolving. When he got subbed off, I noticed him covering his mouth while having a few pissed-off words, and he was visibly annoyed as he took his seat on the bench. It wasn't great to see a guy of his experience and quality being so affected mentally.
Lukaku did pretty well for the most part. Perhaps lacking a tiny bit of sharpness, but he was one of the last people to blame for today. Lautaro was close to invisible. Seems the suspension has derailed his momentum a little bit.
The midfielders were all generally OK, especially in the first half. I thought that Barella was arguably the most disappointing of the 3. As I mentioned in another thread, Barella seemed to complain and throw his hands up in frustration much more today than I'd previously noticed. I felt Brozovic was easily the best of the midfield trio so it was highly confusing to see him subbed off. IMO we needed his anchoring role in the last part of the game.
That brings me to Conte who I'm disappointed in I must say. He deserves some credit for the great first half. And while Padelli's inadequacies aren't his fault, he was too slow and too passive once again. It's strange how Conte differs so wildly from game to game. In some games he takes initiative and makes proactive, bold changes and throws down the gauntlet at opponent coaches. In other matches, he seems paralyzed and he seems afraid to touch the match in any way, as if it were a delicately balanced glass vase. Seems that in the latter case, he doesn't realise soon enough that the vase is either already broken, or in mid air falling to the ground. His subs were too late and once more, his refusal to tweak his setup cost us. Switching Godin and Skriniar and playing Barella as the RB/RCB is the best you can do? Come on.
Now we have a tricky game in Bulgaria of all places. From what I've read here, Ludogorets completely stroll through their domestic league (they've won 8 leagues in a row) so they absolutely live for European nights. With our current form of two consecutive losses, our injuries and inability to rotate, that game provides a much trickier test than we might think. I like to believe this team has moved on from previous seasons where we would black out for months. At the same time I live with one eye over my shoulder, knowing that we're prone to bouts of insanity. Let's say I still completely expect convincing wins against Ludogorets and Samp, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some "typical" Inter bullshit either.
Ultimately, we're still only 3 points off 1st place. This team still has another chance yet to make up for it's sins. We go to juve in 2 weeks. It is the sternest test of all, but at least we have that chance.
10 years of FIF
Nostradamus
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