5 Biggest Fixtures for Inter in Serie A 2022-23
Inter came too close to the domestic league glory in the previous season but had to satisfy with the runners-up position as the 2021-22 Scudetto title was taken away by their arch-rivals AC Milan. The diligent efforts of the Nerazzurri side couldn’t make their title defense campaign a successful one and fell short by just two points.
It was the Milan Blues’ second runners-up campaign in the last three seasons of the Italian top-flight league however they finished among the Top 2 in each of them. They fetched 84 points with 25 won and 9 drawn fixtures and remained in the Top 3 throughout the season. Even though the Nerazzurri missed out on the league title narrowly, they eventually ended up bagging a couple of domestic cups, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana.
They will be kick-starting their 2022-23 Serie A campaign on 13th August against Union Sportiva Leece to write off the previous attempt and raise another claim on the league title.
When Simone Inzaghi took the charge of Milan Blues, huge expectations of Inter Ultras were on his shoulders and the Italian gaffer delivered it handsomely. The beloved boy of Milan, Romelu Lukaku who won the 2020-21 Serie A Most Valuable Player honour is back in the Inter camp for a loan stint. After taking a learning lesson from the despair climax of the previous season, Inzaghi and his boys are now gearing up to come back in the Serie A race stronger than ever.
#5 Lazio vs Inter – 26th August
When Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi bid adieu to his playing career, he chose Lazio as the first destination of his coaching career. In his playing days, the Italian striker spent 11 years wearing the Lazio colours in Italian top-flight football and is considered a reputed figure for his services to the Rome-based outfit. Maurizio Sarri is reaping the fruits sowed by Inzaghi during his five-year stay with Le Aquile.
In the last season when Internazionale travelled to Stadio Olimpico to face the Sky tenants, Simone suffered a defeat in his very first encounter with Biancocelesti in his managerial career. It was a memorable 3-1 triumph of Lazio on home turf despite trailing behind by 0-1 till the first-half whistle. It won’t be easy for the Nerazzurri to travel to Rome and face Lazio on the third matchday as their last away win over the counterparts came back in 2018-19.
#4 Inter vs Roma – 2nd October
When the special one took Inter to the top of Europe
Another Rome outfit which had a thriving campaign in the previous season and is capable enough to give the Milan Blues hard times ahead. When Antonio Conte left the charge of Inter in 2021, Mourinho was the favourite to replace him but the Portuguese gaffer chose the Roma side instead. The Special One had such a glorious short stint with Internazionale that the Inter Ultras still expect the treble-winning gaffer to return at Milan for the one last time.
Inter gave nightmares to the Giallorossi side after emerging victorious in both fixtures of the 2021-22 Serie A season while also eliminating them from the Coppa Italia competition. The Red and Yellows were dominated by the Nerazzurri in all three fixtures as the gaffer Jose Mourinho and his wolves couldn’t stand a chance in any of them. The veteran Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has arrived at the Inter camp from Roma and will be up against his former club on 2nd October.
#3 Inter vs Napoli – 4th January
Napoli gaffer Luciano Spalletti has been often given the credit for shaping the current dominant state Internazionale. During his stint with Inter, he was close with so many prominent players who are still part of the Nerazzurri roster as it will help him to tackle them in accordance with that. The rivalry between Inter and Napoli has become interesting these days as the combatants who used to fight for the runners-up position during Juve’s dominance are now battling for the Scudetto honour.
When the last time Inter hosted Napoli at San Siro for a Serie A fixture, the goal-fest concluded on a 3-2 scoreline in favour of the home side. The visitors were the ones who opened the scoreline in that game with Piotr Zielinski’s 17th-minute strike but the Blue and Blacks eventually had the last laugh. While the second encounter of the season ended on a resultless 1-1 conclusion on the final whistle at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
#2 Juventus vs Inter – 6th November
The Derby d’Italia between Internazionale and Juventus is considered Italy’s biggest non-regional football rivalry to date. The enmity between the two elite clubs has been developed only because of footballing reasons and shared many iconic moments such as Inter breaking Juve’s streak of winning the Scudetto title for nine straight seasons. Inter took the battlefield along with the Bianconeri side four times in the previous season and it managed to remain undefeated in all of them.
They faced each other in the two cup competitions in the previous season and both of the outcomes went in favour of the Blue bearers. Both of the cup encounters went into Extra Time to ensure the results as the one-off Supercoppa Italiana fixture concluded on a 2-1 scoreline while the prestigious Coppa Italia trophy was lifted by Internazionale with a 4-2 triumph. Juventus are going to host the Nerazzurri on the 6th of November and the gaffer Massimiliano Allegri and company are aiming to end the dreaded run against arch-rivals.
#1 AC Milan vs Inter – 3rd September
Hakan Calhanoglu, the most recent addition to the list of players who made a direct switch between two Milan rivals
The Derby della Madonnia has to be the greatest rivalry in the history of Italian football due to the lifelong legacy of both combatants. This battle is always awaited by football fans outside Italy because of its worldwide spread popularity.
Currently, both Milan clubs are on top of their game as the Red Devils side are reigning champions of Serie A while the Milan Blues just clinched the domestic cup and Supercup competition in the previous season. The Nerazzurri marched towards the Coppa Italia championship glory by eliminating the city rivals in the semi-final round on a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
Although the Rossoneri side had the last laugh and the Scudetto trophy in hands with a narrow margin of just two points over the arch-rivals. Interestingly, in the 2020-21 season, Inter emerged as champions of the Serie A edging past the AC Milan side while both teams swapped each other’s positions in the very next season.
