Lazio vs Inter preview: How can Inzaghi control his ex-players’ movement to defend against the Sarriball – tactical analysis

The fight for the Serie A title continues this week with the fixture between Lazio and Inter. Simone Inzaghi will go out against his former club in a highly anticipated tactical battle with the ex-Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri, who took charge of Lazio in the summer and is still trying to establish his playing style and adjust the players to it.

Inzaghi, on the other side, has been quite successful since the start of the season and keeps the 2020/21 champions in the loop, currently sitting 3^rd in the table with 17 points and without a defeat in seven games.

Despite the departure of their best performers Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, the Nerazzurri showed consistency and drive under their new manager and are motivated to defend their title. Not only they didn’t miss the two players as much as expected, but also their new additions Edin Džeko and Hakan Çalhanoğlu fit the team well and are turning into crucial figures for the team.

Sarri returned to Serie A with a couple of wins but his team then started experiencing some difficulties which started with their 0:2 defeat to Milan. Despite that the Biancocelesti won Derby della Capitale against Roma, the team weren’t convincing defensively and they currently sit in the bottom half of the table in terms of goals conceded.

In this preview in the form of tactical analysis, we examine how both managers could outwit each other and how they could tweak their tactics to get the 3 points.

How can Inter limit the oppositions attacking movement?

While there are rather solid at the back, the team’s more aggressive man-to-man marking makes them more vulnerable whenever the opposition escape that press as the players need more time and effort to regroup and defend as a unit. This often happens when defending against long balls behind the defence, as the team have difficulties in covering depth for the defender that goes out of position to cover the ball receiver. Although their back-three would try to not go too high and stay prepared for a turnover, they sometimes struggle in dropping back as a unit.

This often forces them to rely on individual performance and makes them more prone to individual errors. This often results in committing fouls in dangerous areas and giving away free kicks which gives their opponents opportunities on the goal.

Lazio will try to expose them through short passing and creative combinations, which might be difficult for Inter to defend against. Not only they will need to stay compact and move deeper but also limit the spaces between the lines and try to force Lazio out wide, where they are more unlikely to successfully create opportunities.

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