After an exhilarating week of domestic cup football, here are three key things that we have grasped from the thrilling first leg fixtures of the Coppa Italia Semi Finals.
Inter Still Licking Their Wounds from Milan Loss
Many Nerazzurri supporters hoped that Inter would obtain a victory against Milan at the San Siro in order to bounce back and snap out of their period of bad form. However, Inzaghi’s men have only added this cup-tie to their string of disappointing results.
It seems that La Beneamata are still licking the wounds from their 2-1 loss to Milan in the second Derby di Milano as Inzaghi’s men have been unable to maintain the consistency they possessed prior to the international break.
As it stands, the supposedly most offensive team within the league is suffering an immense goal drought as Inter have been unable to find the back of the net in 403 minutes of football across all competitions. The Nerazzurri lack quality within the final third as the veteran striker Edin Dzeko has not been able to score a goal despite tallying 50 shots in two games. Furthermore, the Argentine Lautaro Martinez has failed to score a goal in 624 minutes of competitive football.
With Inter currently undergoing a psychological decline, it could be that this year’s campaign can end in a huge failure for Inzaghi and his men.
Ikone Might Be Vlahovic’s Successor at Fiorentina
While supporters viewed the signings of Arthur Cabral and Krzysztof Piatek as potential replacements for the Serbian international Dusan Vlahovic following his departure to Juventus, many individuals were passive about the signing of Jonathan Ikone from Lille.
The 23 year-old winger had a brilliant display at the Stadio Franchi against the Bianconeri as he dominated the flanks against the last line of defense through the use of his incredible pace and his mesmerizing dribbling skills.
Despite not being able to find the back of the net within Fiorentina’s 1-0 defeat to Juventus at home, the French international demonstrated that he has a huge amount of potential and possesses all the qualities necessary to be the focal point within the attack of Italiano’s side.
Decimated Juventus Might Be Able to Turn the Season Around
As it stands, Allegri’s side are currently suffering a grave injury crisis as many of the Bianconeri star players are held at bay such as Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Bernardeschi, Daniele Rugani, Federico Chiesa, Denis Zakaria, and Weston McKennie.
Despite the extremely long injury list, Juventus have managed to maintain a fine run of form as they are currently undefeated within their last 17 games across all competitions.
While they managed to obtain a 12-game unbeaten streak within the Campionato, which currently makes themselves the best Italian club since the start of the new calendar year, Allegri’s side have made themselves potential title contenders as they are currently only behind the league-leaders Napoli by a seven-point gap.
With Juventus showing professionalism and resiliency as Juan Cuadrado’s last-gasp strike allowed Allegri’s men to obtain a crucial away victory in a difficult match, the Bianconeri have proven that they possess all the attributes required in order to claim silverware within this year’s campaign after a rough first half of the season.