Inter Milan are on an amazing run in Serie A, holding a seven-point lead at the top of the table over AC Milan.
On November 23rd, they lost to AC Milan 1-0 in Derby della Madonnina.
Since that match, Inter have won 12 of their last 13 Serie A matches and have outscored their opponents 34 to 8.
Cristian Chivu came in from Parma this summer as more of an internal hire than an external one.
Before taking that Parma job towards the end of last season, Chivu had spent seven years as a youth team coach in Inter’s system, which made the transition really smooth when Simone Inzaghi left for Al Hilal.
Inter didn’t lose any key players from the team that reached the Champions League final last year, and they also made some smart additions to improve squad depth.
Chivu came in and did the smartest thing he possibly could: he didn’t change their tactical system.
In this Inter Milan tactical analysis, we will take a look at Cristian Chivu tactics for Inter’s famous 3-5-2 system, their impressive mid-block defence, improved high press, and elite ability at set-pieces.
Cristian Chivu In-Possession Tactics
When you already have a squad built to play a 3-5-2, the worst thing you can do as a new coach is come in and completely change the identity.
Since Chivu spent several years in Inter’s youth system, he has extensive experience with Simon Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 tactics.
From deep, the wing-backs will typically drop a little deeper to help the back three overload the opposition.
There are times when the midfield drops into the backline, and the centre-backs push forward into the midfield because Chivu is trying to manipulate the opposition’s man-marking system and force their forwards to follow and defend deeper.
Here, Yann Bisseck trades places with one of the central midfielders and pushes forward in the build-up.
What Inter Milan have, though, is a great blend: a solid system of building from the back, and two incredible forwards in Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, whom they can play direct to.
The two of them have combined for 27 goals between Serie A and the Champions League and a 0.97 xG per 90-minute scoring rate.
The two of them do a fantastic job staggering positions, with one dropping deep and the other always ready to make a run into the space the other creates.
When Inter get into the final third, they typically build up in a 3-2-5, with the full-backs pushing very high and wide to send in a lot of crosses into the box.
What you end up with is 3v3 situations or space at the back post for all kinds of crosses.
Since the beginning of last season, Inter has the highest aerial duel win rate among Europe’s top-five leagues at 58.2%.
So when they get into the final third, they are perfectly fine settling for crosses because, more often than not, their forwards are going to win their individual matchups.
Federico Dimarco is a key to their attack, pushing forward because he already has 12 assists, second only to Michael Olise.
By utilising their full-backs pushing forward, they are the most elite teams sending crosses to the box.
Inter is averaging 7.2 accurate crosses per match, which is the highest amount in Europe’s top five leagues.
All of this has Inter on one of the most dominant runs we’ve seen in Italian football in a while.
Over their last 13 domestic matches, Inter is averaging 2.78 xG per 90 minutes.
Inter has created 108 big chances, which is 35 more than the next closest team in Serie A.
Another reason Inter is so deadly is that once they get out to a lead, they are deadly on the break, as teams can’t sit in a low block anymore, which is one of the main reasons they have scored so many goals over their recent good run of form.
From a positive game state, Inter is averaging 2.73 xG per 90 minutes.
Cristian Chivu Defence Tactics
What many teams in the Champions League found out last year is that when Inter Milan sits in their 5-3-2 low block, they are incredibly difficult to break down.
Chivu hasn’t changed the shape, and Inter Milan has been just as dominant.
You can see here against Dortmund that they typically don’t pressure the ball; instead, they’d take away every possible pass through the middle of the pitch and force the opposition to circulate the ball from side to side.
It’s this compact shape that keeps them among the best defensive teams in the world.
In their 25 Serie A matches, they’ve allowed only 19.8 non-penalty expected goals, one of the lowest xG per shot in Europe’s top five leagues.
One element that Chivu has added to Inter this season is the ability to effectively press teams high up the pitch.
Under Inzaghi, Inter was always a little tentative against lesser teams, not pressing them aggressively, but Chivu has them much improved in their press.
Inter Milan’s PPDA has dropped from 10.6 last year to 8.8 this year.
Per markstats.club, Inter Milan’s number of danger zone losses forced has increased from 21.5 last season to 25.1 this season.
While all of those stats sound good, Inter aren’t always pressing high; they usually rely on triggers to initiate the press.
Here, against Sassuolo, the front two are sitting off initially, but once the ball goes backwards, Inter Milan jump into a man-to-man press.
With that being said, a lot of the high turnovers Inter has forced have come from mid-block or counterpressing rather than pressing high from goal-kicks.
More often than not, Inter Milan are much more content to conserve energy and force teams to play through them.
They are the most physical team in Serie A, and they play a back five, so teams rarely create chances by playing direct balls over the top.
Inter Milan Set-Piece Tactics
What has made Inter Milan one of the best teams in the world is that their physical floor is on par with the Premier League and far above anyone else in Serie A.
They use that aerial prowess to their advantage on the cross, but more importantly, on set-pieces.
Per Opta, Inter have 103 shots from headers this season, which is 31 more than the next closest team in Serie A.
Inter have scored 17 goals and created 16.8 expected goals directly from set pieces between Serie A and the Champions League.
They vary the tactics that they use at corners, but most of them have a majority of their players standing outside the six-yard box looking to get a running start rather than trying to overcrowd the six-yard box, as you see in the Premier League.
Dimarco is the main corner taker on the right side; they usually take inswinging corners, and on the left, outswinging corners.
Inter Milan don’t overcomplicate their set plays, but they are highly effective.
Conclusion
Inter Milan have had a bit of a bad run in the Champions League, and the 3-1 loss to Bodø/Glimt has put a bit of a damper on what has been a really dominant season for Cristian Chivu.
Still, the old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” fits exactly what Cristian Chivu has done.
He’s maintained the incredible foundation that Simone Inzaghi had built and added on to it to try to take Inter to the next level.
At this point in the Serie A season last year, Inter had 54 points and a +26.6 expected goal differential.
Currently, they are sitting on 61 points with an expected goal differential of +38.6.
I think it’s safe to say that Chivu’s tactics are working, and Inter Milan are in a really good spot right now at the top of the Serie A table.
In a world where most teams are dead set on overloading the middle and maintaining control of matches, Inter Milan has done the opposite.
You find a lot of teams don’t want to settle for a high amount of crosses into the box, but Inter are so deadly with them and are so physical that it actually is a huge benefit to them.
The versatility both in and out of possession makes Inter so dangerous, and it would be a real shame if they went out early in the Champions League because they are certainly capable of another run to the final.
They will have to overcome a two-goal deficit against Bodø/Glimt, but they are absolutely capable of flipping that tie on its head because right now they are better than last year’s team that made the Champions League final.
