Inter-Udinese 2-0, Scattered Considerations

Arnautovic and Asllani beat Udinese and allow Inter to have a comfortable qualification to the quarterfinals.

Inter and Udinese had not faced each other in the Italian Cup since 2014 and they do it again more than ten years later in a match, that of the round of 16 of the Italian Cup, which for Inter in recent seasons has always been synonymous with suffering and unexpected troubles. This time, however, Inter handled the process easily thanks to an Olympic goal from Asllani and to a gift from Udinese’s defense which allows Arnautovic to direct the match onto tracks firmly in control of the Nerazzurri. So it arrives for Inter the quarter-final match against Laziorevenge of the 0-6 tennis match of a few days ago, while Udinese concludes its journey in the Cup with a dignified performance conditioned by important absences but which was too little to think of subverting the balance of the race.

The first half opens with a penalty awarded and then rightly taken away from Inter but above all with what will happen il lead motive of the Inter first half: Inzaghi’s team insistently seeks to cut the two strikers and Frattesi behind the Udinese defence, which remains exposed in this sense also due to Runjaic’s choice to keep the pressing line high, however showing a weak point which had already caused more than one headache for Bijol and his teammates against Napoli. However, Udine’s strategy works, at least for half an hour, given that Inter it has a hard time getting past the filter of the midfield and to build up the amount of play in a reasoned way although, when he manages to do so, he still gets to the area defended by Piana with a certain ease. Udinese, for its part, she’s good at handling pressure on the left but definitely imprecise in dribbling on the right, as Ekkelenkamp’s error was announced by a couple of bloody turnovers not exploited by the hosts.

In the first half of the match, it made the difference for Inter it is the surplus of quality on the left flankthe true powerhouse of the Nerazzurri game and despite the absence of Dimarco, the presence of Zielinski and Bastoni is enough to guarantee ideas and quality in the dribbling. More generally, Inter demonstrate that they have second and third level lines definitely superior to those of the very recent past, perhaps thanks to the successful market choices (Zielinski as a reserve is a luxury good to be taxed with the IMU), or for the growth of elements like Bisseck and Asllani, who is not yet as good as Calhanoglu at orchestrating dribbling, movements and passing lines but he knows how to make passes and changes of play useful for taking the Friulian defense by surprise. Arnautovic’s goal that unlocks the result is an unprecedented miracle of precisionwhich probably causes an illness in the stands of San Siro, is that it radically changes the game of the Austrian who, having gained confidence, offers an important intensity.

The second half flows quite placidly with the Inter that manages and Udinese trying to rely on long balls for Lucca to move up the field and overcome the difficulties of a midfield emptied by offensive changes. Among the Friulians, 2004 is on display James Abankwah with a series of beautiful individual percussions that break up the atonicity of the Juventus attack a little. The performance of, however, was encouraging Alexis Sanchezwhich lasts only one time: the ex of the match finds himself back on the pitch and his former teammates and although he still appears far from a condition capable of having a decisive impact, he is very useful in putting order in his team’s offensive plots. Overall, Udinese’s match it wasn’t negative: the Friulians paid the price for two episodic goals but were unable to overturn the inertia of a match in which Inter had all the interest to fall asleep.

L’Inter However, he manages to achieve his goal in the best way or with the minimum possible effort, something not to be taken for granted given the level of the opponents and the precedents. Having put the game on ice already at the end of the first half allows Inzaghi to indulge in his favorite sport, that of programmed rotations. As we have already mentioned, the performance of “reserves” she is very positivealso considering the good defensive performance of the team during the match. Martinez, on his debut, was reliable in managing the ball and miraculous on a stone in the final by Touré which could have given us a decidedly spicier finish to the match, while Buchanan gives encouraging signs: he is still immature and not inclined towards a more sophisticated management of the ball and spaces but, despite some inaccuracies, he has those insights in one-on-one situations which Inter have been missing for a long time and which are signs of personality and resourcefulness.