Marco Parolo was only joking when he asked Simone Inzaghi the question last December. “When you were still coaching me at Lazio, you offered us players a dinner for the first goal, assisted by one full-back and scored by the other,” the former Italy international said during a TV interview after Inter’s home win against Udinese. ‘What are you trying now? A goal scored by the defender on one side of your back three and scored by the defender on the other side?
The translation is a bit cumbersome. In Italian, Parolo contrasted “un gol da quinto a quinto” with one “da terzo a terzo”, but English offers no equivalent for this shorthand reference to footballers’ positions as “fifth” and “third”. The sentiment was what mattered. Parolo, like the rest of us, marveled at the fluidity of an Inter side where it seems like every player, apart from the goalkeeper, has permission to join the attack.
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On Saturday, Parolo’s vision became reality. In the 37th minute of Inter’s match against Bologna, Alessandro Bastoni, who started imaginary on the left of Inter’s back three, pushed up to support his full-back just outside the opponent’s penalty area. Carlos Augusto put the ball back, Bastoni sent a cross for the first time and Yann Bisseck, Inter’s right-sided ‘terzo’ for this match, arrived to score a diving header at the back post.
The most improbable part was that none of this felt implausible. Bastoni has occupied these positions and played crosses all season. Bisseck, who joined from Aarhus GF in Denmark last summer, described himself at his unveiling as a “modern defender, who likes to play with the ball and likes to score.” He had already opened his account for the club with a goal against Lecce in December – a match in which he also hit a volley against the crossbar.
There is perhaps no better club in Europe right now where a player with that mentality can flourish. To even define Inzaghi’s football as ‘modern’ feels uncharitable, as that would imply a wider trend of clubs embracing such a fluid approach to what formations can be. Where else can a young centre-back feel so empowered to launch an attack, knowing that colleagues will fill the space he leaves behind?
This may have been Inter’s first goal ‘da terzo a terzo’, but the principles that made it possible have been in development for months. This was on display in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Atlético Madrid, when Stefan De Vrij – from the center of the back three – ran past the Spanish club’s defense and almost set up Marcus Thuram for the opening goal . barely fifteen minutes.
Inter’s 1-0 victory in the Derby d’Italia last month was sealed by an own goal, partly caused by another defender, Benjamin Pavard, who attempted a scissor-kick volley into the Juventus penalty area. The Frenchman failed to connect, but his action caused the defender behind him to misread the flight of a ball, which eventually bounced in off Federico Gatti.
This points to another extraordinary feature of Inzaghi’s Inter: the interchangeability of so many different players. Bastoni and Pavard are the first-choice starters for the left and right sides of the defense, but Bisseck and Matteo Darmian provide good cover. De Vrij and Francesco Acerbi can be alternated in the center without hesitation.
The same goes for the fullback positions. Denzel Dumfries and Darmian offer ‘horses for courses’ options on the right: the latter is a more industrious defender, but the former a greater attacking threat. Federico Dimarco has developed into an elite player on the left, but Carlos Augusto has developed so quickly since joining from Monza that Inzaghi can now rest the Italian without worry.
Saturday’s match was a good example of this, a trip to Bologna providing about as tough a challenge as Inter could find domestically. Thiago Motta’s team had won six, including away games against Lazio and Atalanta, to climb to fourth in the table. They had not lost at their Stadio Renato Dall’Ara since August last year.
This was not a crucial match for Inter. They already had a 15-point lead in Serie A, but could be excused for prioritizing this week’s upcoming second leg against Atlético. Inzaghi made six changes to the starting XI, which defeated Genoa five days earlier.
Still, Inter could have scored several times before Bisseck broke the deadlock. Alexis Sánchez saved from a tight angle in the 10th minute, Darmian flashed a shot wide in the 15th and Nicolò Barella scored a one-on-one in the 21st. Lewis Ferguson forced Yann Sommer into action with a long shot at the other end, but Inter took the lead at half-time.
Inzaghi’s side sat deeper in the second half and invited Bologna to perhaps do more than they should have. Yet Sommer only had to make one save after the break, and it was a routine save. Across all competitions he has now kept 23 clean sheets.
Parolo was not present full-time to remind Inzaghi of their conversation, but another post-match interviewer intervened and asked if he planned to buy meals to celebrate that ‘terzo a terzo’ goal. “More than one!” the manager replied. “It’s hard to find a day off to plan a dinner right now, but we’ll find time.”
A moment to celebrate will come soon enough. Juventus’ draw against Bologna on Sunday extended Inter’s lead at the top of the league to 16 points. The prospect of them clinching their title against rivals Milan next month is starting to look real. With both teams tied on 19 wins in Serie A, that would be a highlight in the race to see which of the city’s footballing ‘cousins’ will be the first to stick a second gold star above their club badge.
Inzaghi emphasized again on Saturday that this Scudetto is not yet in the bag. It’s a difficult argument to take seriously. Inter have won thirteen games in a row in all competitions and are on course for more than 100 points. They score goals with combinations that once seemed like a joke.
The Champions League is another matter, and even with a one-goal lead, Inter can’t take anything for granted when they travel to Madrid. Parolo told Dazn: “I think Inter can go 50-50 with all the big clubs in Europe, except maybe [Manchester] City.” Even then, we might quietly add that this Inter team is better than the team that gave the Premier League champions a close run in the final last year.
Serie A results
Napoli 1-1 Torino, Sassuolo 1-0 Frosinone, Cagliari 4-2 Salernitana, Bologna 0-1 Inter, Genoa 2-3 Monza, Lecce 0-1 Verona, AC Milan 1-0 Empoli, Juventus 2-2 Atalanta, Fiorentina 2-2 Rome
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Pos |
Team |
P |
GD |
Ptn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Inter Milan |
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2 |
AC Milan |
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3 |
Juventus |
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4 |
Bologna |
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5 |
Roma |
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6 |
Atalanta |
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7 |
Naples |
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8 |
Fiorentina |
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|
9 |
Lazio |
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10 |
Monza |
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11 |
Turin |
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|
12 |
Genoa |
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13 |
Verona |
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|
14 |
Cagliari |
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|
15 |
Lecce |
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16 |
Empoli |
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17 |
Udinese |
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18 |
Frosinone |
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|
19 |
Sassuolo |
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20 |
Salernitana |