5 Things we learned from Inter’s opening day victory over Monza in the Serie A
Brilliant second half from Inter gets them over the line at the San Siro. It was looking a bit spooky in the first half but Inter managed to pull through and eventually come out victorious following an excellent second half, they got off to the perfect start just six minutes in when Hakan Calhanoglu fired a missile from outside the box to open the scoring for Chivu’s side. Whilst Inter dominated possession Monza looked dangerous on the break and did equalise in the 28th minute after Mathis Mout played the ball into Gustavo Varela who was able to roll Akanji in the box and fire past Josep Martinez into the bottom corner to draw Monza level, from then until half-time Inter looked stunned and Monza had the better of the game but were unable to go in front as the teams went level into half-time. Inter had to improve in the second half and it didn’t take long for them to retake the lead as Dimarco’s cross was palmed out poorly by Pizzignacco to Zielinski who’s finish bounced over the Monza goalkeeper to put Inter 2-1 in front, from there Inter gained huge confidence and just a few minutes later added a third after Andy Diouf’s cross was flicked in brilliantly at the near post by Pio Esposito to put Inter 3-1 up just ten minutes into the second half. To put the icing on the cake in the 63rd minute Inter added a fourth as Yann Bisseck picked up the ball on the edge of the box and drove towards the Monza goal before firing into the near-post to wrap up the three points for Inter, not bad for a centre-back.
An almost perfect first game back in the Serie A for Inter. Whilst the first half was far from Inter’s best I thought they were absolutely brilliant in the second half sweeping Monza aside in just twenty minutes after the restart, we saw Andy Diouf in his new position at right-wing-back and he followed up his excellent pre-season with two assists today albeit one was for Calhanoglu’s goal which was a trademark strike from the edge of the box from the Turkey international. I was glad to see Francesco Pio Esposito start and he repaid Chivu with a goal and assist in the second half with the goal coming from some superb improvisation to back-flick the ball past Pizzignacco to all but seal the three points for Inter, Inter were looking pretty shaky at the back in the first half but steadied up in the second period basically shutting out Monza completely along with providing some brilliant attacking threat through the wing-backs and Bisseck who scored a ridiculous fourth goal that any attacker would have been proud off. Overall a few teething problems today for Inter but they continue to be the team to beat in the Serie A, is there anyone that can compete with this team this season?
Lessons to be learned for Monza and Ivan Juric. I thought Monza played quite well in the first half and had a few chances to take the lead after making it 1-1 in the first half but they just didn’t have that quality in the final third to punish Inter who were quite poor for much of the first half, I don’t know if I’m being harsh but if you look at the goals Monza conceded I think Semuel Pizzignacco has to do so much better for at least two of the goals in the Monza goal. I understand he’s a young goalkeeper at 24 years old but you’d want more from your goalkeeper if you’re Ivan Juric, the goal Monza scored was superb and came from one of their new signings Gustavo Varela who has come in from Benfica after spending last season on loan at Casa Pia. At just 21 years of age Monza will be hoping they have a star for the future that can shoot the club up the table this season, only time will tell.
Andy Diouf and Pio Esposito star in the second half masterclass. I said in my preview for Inter that Diouf and Esposito where players to watch this season for the Serie A champions and they starred in a brilliant second half from Chivu’s side, Andy Diouf has looked like Cafu-reincarnate at wing-back during pre-season and he’s brought that form into the season supplying two assists on the day. Chivu showed faith in Pio Esposito giving him the start ahead of Bonny and Thuram with the Italian repaying his managers faith with a magical goal to give Inter a cushion on their lead early in the second half, with Lautaro Martinez just coming back from the World Cup and building up his fitness it is imperative that Esposito hits the ground running and it looks like he’s doing just that. Next up for Inter is a trip to Cagliari on Sunday next week.
Any business left to do before the window closes? I think Inter’s business has wrapped up with the Curtis Jones signing earlier this week, we saw Djed Spence at the San Siro today but I can’t see him starting in this team whilst Andy Diouf is tearing it up down that right-hand-side. I think Inter’s squad is looking really good ahead of the season and Chivu can be confident of fighting on all fronts unlike last season when they fell short in the Champions League, for Monza it might sound harsh again but I can’t see Juric sticking with this goalkeeper throughout a whole season. Their bench keeper was just 18 years old so maybe Monza might want to add some experience between the sticks before the end of the window next week, we’ll have to wait and see.