Inzaghi's reliable reserves crucial to Inter's double quest

CNA

12-05-2025

Inter Milan kept their Serie A title defence bubbling with a vital away victory at the weekend and their Scudetto and Champions League chances have been boosted by fringe players coming up with the goods at just the right time.
Having successfully come through a Champions League thriller with Barcelona, Simone Inzaghi made wholesale changes just as he did after the first leg. His side have responded with two league wins to move within one point of leaders Napoli.
A 2-0 victory at Torino on Sunday, Inzaghi's 100th league win with Inter, came thanks to goals from Nicola Zalewski and Kristjan Asslani, while Napoli were held 1-1 at home to Genoa.
Zalewski arrived on loan in February, having found himself out of favour at AS Roma, and while the Polish wing-back has only played one minute in the Champions League, he scored an impressive and important goal at Torino.
His control of Alessandro Bastoni's pass was exquisite, selling his marker a dummy with a backheel flick which gave him room to cut inside and take the ball forward before bending his shot inside the far post.
Bastoni was one of only two players selected by Inzaghi from the side which started the 4-3 extra-time win over Barcelona, and with no Lautaro Martinez or Marcus Thuram, Zalewski picked the perfect time to score his first Inter goal.
Hakan Calhanoglu is Inter's reliable penalty taker, scoring from the spot against Barca and missing just one in 25 for the club but in his absence, Asslani has proved just as dependable.
In the previous league game, Asslani converted a ninth-minute penalty versus Hellas Verona, the only goal of the game, and against Torino the Albanian doubled Inter's lead from the spot early in the second half.
Mehdi Taremi was the player fouled for the penalty, with the Iran striker making his first league start since February, having come off the bench against Barcelona to provide an assist for another substitute, Davide Frattesi, to net the winner.
Frattesi missed the Torino game injured and while he has only started four Champions League games, Inzaghi will count on his recovery for the May 31 final versus Paris St Germain, after the midfielder also came on to snatch a winner at Bayern Munich.
Goalkeeper Josep Martinez arrived at the start of the campaign as back-up for Yann Sommer and made his fifth league start against Torino as Inzaghi rested the Swiss number one.
Martinez filled in earlier this season when Sommer suffered a broken thumb, has conceded three goals in his five undefeated games and against Torino pulled off a fine save at the end of the first half to keep Inter ahead at the break.
Inter have two league games left, and with doubts over the fitness of Frattesi, Lautaro Martinez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Benjamin Pavard for next weekend's game at home to Lazio, the Inzaghi will again rely on lesser-used players to do the job.
PSG's Luis Enrique has been able to rest his main players since wrapping up the Ligue 1 title in early April and now Inzaghi, still fighting for the Scudetto, must do likewise.