Mission accomplished! In advance of the ninth day, Inter beat Verona with a pyrotechnic 4-2 and returned close to the Champions area, albeit with one game more than Juventus and Napoli. It was supposed to be an open and fun match, and, at least in part, expectations were met. The nerazzurri approached the match with the right spirit, then finding the help of luck, which at least favored the success of the first two goals. Verona, on the other hand, accused what in Spain they call "miedo escenico", that is the fear of being on a more important stage than usual. In fact, it is no coincidence that the Venetians only showed their best when the match was compromised, as if they had shaken off all the pressures that accompanied them. In short, Inter deserved a victory, but they can't smile at all; however, the defensive distractions must be added to the goals and points, which cost another two passive goals (they make 8 in the last three games) in addition to the reproaches from Walter Mazzarri. “We went really well up to 2-0, but then we need to improve – acknowledged the Nerazzurri coach. – Many times we mirror ourselves and play games more for the audience than for anything else, this is not good. We commit too many lightness, naivety could cost dearly. We saw Juve win 2-0 in Florence and then lose 4-2, we must never let our guard down." The reason for these distractions is still not entirely clear: for some it is a question of technical limitations, for others of avoidable errors attributable to inexperience. Mazzarri opts for the second path: “We have a young team with many good guys who play well. As long as everyone was concentrated we played a great game, but as soon as we loosened the reins Verona put us in difficulty. If we want to annoy everyone and remain at the top, we must not look in the mirror and concede these oversights".
Overall, however, the Nerazzurri's Saturday evening can be considered happy. Mazzarri chooses to face Verona with the now tested 3-5-1-1, albeit more offensive than usual. Ricky Alvarez in fact climbs to the midfield in place of Taider and Kovacic is placed behind Palacio, for an Inter that decides to put it on a technical level. The project worked, and the Nerazzurri found themselves leading by two goals after just 12 minutes. However, the goals both came about in a rather casual way: in the 9th minute a right-footed volley from Jonathan destined to go wide finds a deflection from Moras, in the 12th minute a parry from Jorginho ends straight on the body of the unaware Palacio. Verona skidded, but then Inter began to look in the mirror (Mazzarri dixit) and concede something. In the 32nd minute Martinho took advantage of Toni's side (as well as the error by the Nerazzurri centre-backs) to slip into the area and beat Carrizo (2-1). Everything reopened? Not a chance! Five minutes later, in fact, Cambiasso scores the third goal after a post by Nagatomo, and at the start of the second half (56') Rolando also scores, again taking advantage of a carambola from a corner. The match seems to have finished here and Mazzarri starts the swirl of substitutions, necessary in view of the next midweek match (Tuesday in Bergamo against Atalanta): Cambiasso and Palacio out, Kuzmanovic and Belfodil in. But Inter hasn't yet learned to manage the results with due calm, so Verona take the opportunity to save face. In the 71st minute Toni protects the ball and serves it to Romulo, whose left foot slips in behind Carrizo (4-2). There would also be time for Toni's 4-3, but the referee Celi stops everything due to an alleged (?) foul by the attacker on Ranocchia. Mazzarri smells an air he doesn't like and decides to thicken the ranks: Kovacic out (fair his performance as attacking midfielder/second striker), Taider in. The match ended without further jolts and Inter thus brought home a precious victory. The road to a top championship is still long, but even so, that's enough for now.
