It was a controversial weekend in Serie A, with some scenes that will be remembered long after the 2017/18 campaign comes to an end. It began with Chievo’s meltdown against Juventus, two of the Veronese club’s players sent off for ridiculous acts as their team-mates battled hard against the champions, and that theme continued when VAR failed to overturn an incredibly soft penalty in favour of Napoli on Sunday afternoon. That allowed them to come from behind to beat Bologna, while Fiorentina’s 4-1 capitulation against Hellas led to a mass walkout and a vociferous demonstration against the Tuscan club’s stubborn and ineffective owners.
Yet for all the unprecedented moments around the peninsula, there was an old familiar sight at SPAL’s Stadio Paolo Mazza. The tiny ground hosted the Emilia-Romagna side’s clash with Inter, a club who were top of the table and hoping to contend for the title as recently as early December. However, after remaining undefeated by that point, a stern test away to Juventus would see all their good work undone, the 0-0 draw seemingly taking a major psychological toll on the Nerazzurri squad.
They followed up that result with a desperately poor Coppa Italia performance against Pordenone, needing extra time and a penalty shootout to see off the third tier minnows. Losses to Udinese and Sassuolo – two teams who have been in the bottom three this term – came next, before a derby loss to crosstown rivals Milan. Subsequently, a difficult run of matches all ended in draws for Inter as Lazio, Fiorentina and Roma all took home a share of the points, meaning the Nerazzurri have not tasted victory in the league since December 3.
However, a trip to SPAL – who had managed just three wins in their first 21 Serie A fixtures of the season – presented a chance to return to winning ways. In the opening 45 minutes, the two teams cancelled each other out, the home side working hard to deny chances to their heavily favoured visitors who struggled to break down such a resilient opponent.
But just three minutes after the break, Inter took the lead. From his role at left back, Joao Cancelo swung a seemingly harmless cross into the box, only to see SPAL defender Francesco Vicari turn the ball into his own net. Much like Juve did the night before after opening the scoring against Chievo, the bigger side would rightly be expected to dominate from that position, but the Nerazzurri remained nervous and only a lack of attacking qualify prevented the Biancazzurri from finding an equaliser.
They were sparked into life by their manager however, the intelligent Leonardo Semplici making a number of attacking substitutions as he recognised Inter were there for the taking. SPAL grew more and more confident as the Nerazzurri shrunk in the latter stages of the game, failing to match the intensity of their opponents and that lack of belief would ultimately prove fatal.
When a cross came into the box, Mirco Antenucci dropped into a pocket of space and, after tormenting Cancelo, picked out Alberto Paloschi perfectly. The former Swansea striker made no mistake as he glanced a header beyond Samir Handanovic and into the net, but few Inter players had a visible reaction to being pegged back.
Instead, while Antenucci, Paloschi and a sold out stadium celebrated wildly, Spalletti and his men simply shrugged, acting as if they expected the goal and the two dropped points that came with it. “I wouldn’t say I’m worried,” the Coach confessed to reporters shortly after the final whistle. “I haven’t seen particular improvements even from when we had a winning streak, we always had these blackouts where we lost the ball in banal fashion and didn’t fight back!”
Going on to bemoan a lack of balance and a mental fragility, Spalletti’s demeanour was exactly the same as when his Roma side suffered similar meltdowns. In truth, his teams and the Nerazzurri themselves have always struggled to maintain focus and avoid such poor results, with arguably only Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni able to provide Inter with the kind of determination needed to win trophies. Instead there is an endless cycle of false dawns and collapses, one only exacerbated by the presence of Spalletti, a man who provides entertaining football at times but who is seemingly unable to instil a lasting belief or winning mentality.
It was a 1-1 stalemate stemming from a flaw that has plagued the club and their current Coach for quite some time, a pathology neither Inter or Spalletti seem capable of ending. With all that in mind, SPAL managing a draw with Inter was perhaps the least surprising result in a weekend laden with shocks, startling moments and controversy.
