If it's not a crisis, we're close. After Atalanta, Cagliari and Rubin Kazan, Parma also stopped Inter, which after the victory over Juve was no longer able to beat any opponent. The Nerazzurri's journey ended on that magical night in Turin, when everything seemed possible, including winning the Scudetto. However, reality says that Inter have problems, both physical and technical. Injuries and suspensions have taken the shine off an increasingly tired and worn out group, and now perhaps even discouraged.
The only consolation comes from the opponents, including Juventus: nobody is unbeatable, so the championship remains open. To win it, however, Inter will have to do much more than what was seen at the Tardini. A bit surprising compared to the predictions of the eve, Stramaccioni decides to replace Cassano, unavailable due to disqualification, with Ricky Alvarez, thus preferred to Coutinho. The choice turns out to be wrong, because the Argentine never manages to speed up the maneuver, actually ending up slowing it down and making it even more predictable. Without refueling Milito and Palacio go around in circles, also because the median doesn't seem to have any more petrol than a few weeks ago. The only scoring chances thus came from set pieces: first Guarin grazed the post, then Cambiasso headed in with a sure shot, but his shot was saved by the excellent Mirante.
In short, nothing transcendental, also because Parma certainly aren't watching. The unleashed Biabiany then stings more than once on a poorly maintained armband from Nagatomo. In the second half you would expect an aggressive Inter, but the hosts are still growing. Who find the knockout blow in the 75th minute: Samson takes the ball from midfield and flies undisturbed towards Handanovic's goal. The nerazzurri are watching, especially Guarin, who almost seems to step aside while the attacker shoots and scores. Inter reacted nervously, but were unable to create anything concrete and made up for the fourth defeat of their championship.
“We certainly played one of the worst second times of the season, but we paid dearly for a very serious mistake – admitted a rather embittered Stramaccioni. – You can't concede a goal like this, starting from a throw-in in midfield. We've made one point in three games, we're angry. It's not the first time that in the match following the Europa League we haven't been able to produce a quality performance. We all have to do mea culpa." Now Inter are third on equal points with Fiorentina, -2 from Napoli and -4 from leaders Juventus. The championship is long and anything can still happen, but a wake up call is needed. Otherwise a season that seemed positive could really get complicated.
