Inter can no longer win. Not even little Carpi manages to restore a smile to the Nerazzurri, who have had no successes in the league since 6 January and are now 6 points behind leaders Napoli. For the third consecutive time in San Siro's friend (?) basin, the final minutes were decisive: exactly like against Lazio and Sassuolo, the Mancini band ended up conceding goals just a few moments from the end of the match.
And so Carpi snatched a historic and very heavy draw for the fight for salvation, although Genoa and Sampdoria (the last ones, at this moment, before the red zone) are still 5 points apart. All this is of little interest to Inter, forced to put aside their dreams of the Scudetto and register Fiorentina's engagement in third place, the last profit to return to the Champions League.
“I'm sorry, this is the third game we're throwing away in the final – Mancini commented disconsolately. – We have a problem in the goal area, we do too little and this is not good. When you lead 1-0, anything can happen, we have to be able to make chances and finish the matches. I've seen goals missed that I too would score at 50, if we carry on like this we won't even reach third place”.
Harsh words, perhaps even too much seen and considering the standings, however it is clear that the march has stalled and everything has come back into question, even that Champions League placement which by now seemed to be a done deal. What worries Mancini most, probably, is above all the repetition of events, as if his Inter were unable to improve the established defects that he has. The problems in the goal area, for example: the 26 scored so far (in 21 games) are very few for a top team, just think that Higuain alone has scored 21.
Lately also the defense is less solid than before and "san Handanovic" can't always fix it. The match against Carpi seemed perfect to regain that home victory that has been missing since 5 December (1-0 over Genoa), possibly with a few goals scored and none scored. Mission failed and this despite the goal scored in the first half (Palacio in the 39th minute), which seemed to make the task even easier.
But in the second half the Nerazzurri, instead of closing the conversation with a 2-0 lead, fiddled a bit too much, wasting a few chances (above all the double from Felipe Melo and Palacio, but also Icardi) and leaving the match in the balance until the end. And so Carpi, still unbeaten in 2016 and several times close to scoring in the first half (protests over a goal disallowed by Mbakogu and a handball by Murillo in the area, also worth noting a penalty denied to Icardi), found the equalizer in full stoppage time with a left footed shot by Lasagna (92'), despite the numerical inferiority due to Pasciuti's expulsion (83').
The 1-1 final caused the San Siro to boo, increasingly worried by the trend in recent times. The first place of 15 days ago has become a fourth, and next Sunday there will be the derby with Milan. The perfect opportunity to resume the race, but also to definitively lose all certainty.
