Simone Inzaghi has made Inter’s 1-3-5-2 formation into a system that is absolutely tight in defence, consistent in transition and extremely aggressive in attack.
The partnership between Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku is an example of the ideal, but incidentally also the only rotated position in the Italian team, which Inzaghi uses depending on the requirements of the opponent. Also a key part of the attack is Nicolò Barella attacking the penalty area from deep and in the second phase of the action.
The wings are ruled by the space-seeking Federico Dimarco and the dynamic and fast Denzel Dumfries. Inzaghi’s team likes to develop possession of the ball using the movement of both these wing-backs. They are the ones most often responsible for progression and creating space, with the right wing movement being far quicker and more direct, while the left flank is used for more deliberate and slower play.
All of Inter’s formations have clearly and rigid assigned tasks and there is little rotation of positions here. The most rotations are made by the wing-backs drawing the defenders’ attention away from the two forwards and creating free spaces around the box.
They are much more flexible in defence than in attack and adapt well to the opponent’s movements. However, even then, both forwards and all three central defenders are usually given the more traditional tasks of holding their positions and staying in their zones. It is the central midfielders, with the help of the side defenders and the defensive midfielder, who are responsible for constantly pressing and closing down space regardless of the direction of the rivals’ actions.
The defensive midfielder always positions himself high and close to rivals. The back three usually stay in contact with the midfielders in the defensive phases and the wide central defenders make a lot of pressing leaps and tackle attempts already in the early phases of the opponent’s play. In lower pressing they do not shy away from setting up with four defenders, when one of the wing-back goes deeper and the opposite then accompanies the DM in moving behind the action in the middle (4-2-2-2).
