The physical fatigue and mental exhaustion of Inter’s players are visible, but when you look at the numbers and statistics, it becomes clear that players from clubs that reached the Champions League semi-finals (Barcelona, Arsenal, and PSG) have played the same number or even more matches than Inter’s players. Their starters spent more minutes on the field and covered significantly more kilometers. Among the ten players who have played the most minutes this season, considering only the Champions League semi-finalists, there isn’t a single Inter player. Seven are from Barcelona (we all saw how Flick’s men ran in the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid), two are from Arsenal, and one from PSG. Lautaro Martínez is the first Inter player on that list, in 14th place.Inter have suffered 3 losses in a row and scored 0 goals… ❌ 1-0 loss vs Bologna❌ 3-0 loss vs Milan❌ 1-0 loss vs RomaUp next: Barcelona (A) in Champions League. pic.twitter.com/lnkWCywSGd— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) April 28, 2025 Inter’s collapse over the last ten days can be explained by several facts that are relatively easy to prove or defend. Let’s start with the age of the team. PSG’s players are on average five and a half years younger than Inter’s, Barcelona’s by four and a half, and Arsenal’s by just over two years. For reference, Inter’s average age is 29.3. Inter’s substitutes have largely underperformed this season, especially in midfield and attack. The responsibility doesn’t lie solely with the players but also with Inzaghi, who did not manage playing time well and failed to create an atmosphere in which these players would feel like important elements despite their limited roles. This mainly refers to Frattesi and Zielinski. Barella and Mkhitaryan have been squeezed dry, and it’s not as if Frattesi and Zielinski aren’t respectable alternatives.Wolf dealt Inter a fatal blow and brought Napoli close to ScudettoUndoubtedly, the biggest disappointment is Taremi. The Iranian international was supposed to be an added value for Inter, a solution to their only weakness last season, when the absence of a quality attacking substitute cost them dearly in the Champions League round of 16 against Atlético Madrid. Marko Arnautović is injury-prone and highly inconsistent, and Joaquín Correa is one of the biggest flops in Inter’s history (he cost the club over 50 million euros, including transfer fee and salary). Part of the blame also falls on Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio for not resolving this critical issue despite having ample time. Last June, their priority was signing a proper center-forward. While they hit the mark with Marcus Thuram, they completely missed with all the other forwards, from Džeko, Sanchez, and Correa to Arnautović and Taremi over the past four years.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The management — and partially Inzaghi — are also responsible for the lack of alternatives to Dumfries on the right flank and Calhanoglu as the playmaker. Darmian, at 36, can play a few games at a high level, but asking him to play three matches a week is self-destructive. Inter made a mistake letting Raoul Bellanova go. The Italian international is the second-best assistant in Serie A with eight assists for Atalanta — only Lukaku has more in the league. Inter’s decision to sign Zalewski in January makes little sense, since he plays on the left wing where Dimarco and Carlos Augusto were already present, while Darmian remained the only backup for Dumfries. By Murphy’s Law, Dumfries — one of three Inter players without a proper replacement — got injured in the crucial part of the season. Likewise, just as it was obvious that Darmian couldn’t replace Dumfries long-term, everyone knew that Asllani doesn’t have the quality to orchestrate Inter’s play. Maybe the former Empoli player will become a decent footballer, but it’s hard to believe he’ll reach the required level for Italy’s top clubs — not just Inter.Inter and Napoli could decide a new Serie A champion in a showdown!?Finally, there’s Inzaghi’s responsibility. The Inter coach clearly struggles with the spring part of the season, when his teams consistently drop in all parameters, from fitness to results. Sometimes the slump starts in January, sometimes in February or March, but it’s inevitable. This season it peaked in April, but the problems were already visible from January. Inzaghi is clearly making mistakes in preparing and timing his team’s peak form. No one expects Inter or any other team to play a flawless season, but it’s also unacceptable for a big club to string together five or six matches well below their level every season. It was possible to excuse the slip-up against Parma at Tardini — blowing a two-goal lead — because the match was sandwiched between two quarter-final duels with Bayern. But the performances against Bologna, Milan, and Roma cannot be justified by fatigue and exhaustion. Inzaghi is on the verge of handing over the Scudetto — for the second time in four years — to another club. After Pioli and Milan, it’s now Conte and Napoli, amplifying the sense of a missed opportunity to build a winning cycle.Reinvented Jovic nails a brace to destroy Inter’s dream of TrebleAside from timing issues, a major drawback in Inzaghi’s career has been his overreliance on veterans — players past their peak — and the fact that in ten years of managing in Serie A, Simone has not promoted a single young player. No youth academy product was established either at Lazio or Inter. The examples of Mkhitaryan, Darmian, and Acerbi are clear. In modern football, a team with big ambitions can play with one player over 35, but not three. In the end, the price is paid — and it’s no surprise that Inter consistently collapses in the final 20 minutes of matches and often concedes late goals.##NAJAVA_MECA_8893847##Of course, the players are also to blame, even the best ones who are rarely criticized. First and foremost, Lautaro Martínez. The captain has scored half as many goals in this championship as he did in the previous one. He compensated for the lack of goals in Serie A with performances in the Champions League. In any case, the Inter striker paid a high price for his involvement in the Copa América and the resulting absence from Inter’s preseason. It’s now obvious that Lautaro is running on fumes in the final quarter-hour of games. Circumstances also played a role. Inzaghi’s teams have been known over the past ten years for having relatively few injuries — that hasn’t been the case this season. Almost all of Inter’s key players have been sidelined with injuries: from goalkeeper Sommer, through Acerbi, Çalhanoğlu, Dumfries, and Dimarco, to Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram.Photo-finish of Serie A – which shade of blue survives?The Nerazzurri are at serious risk of jeopardizing in April everything they had built over the previous seven months. Inter are already out of the Coppa Italia. Defeats to Bologna and Roma have essentially “unstitched” the Scudetto from the Nerazzurri jersey. Only the Champions League remains to save the season. Two years ago, reaching the UCL final was the decisive factor in Inter’s continued trust in Simone Inzaghi. Officially, Inter confirms that Inzaghi will stay on the bench regardless of how the season ends — in fact, a contract extension is expected.
