Inter’s home form has become one of the defining features of Cristian Chivu’s reign. San Siro is not merely producing victories for the Italian champions; it is providing a steady flow of goals, with the team carrying that habit into a demanding sequence between Serie A and the Champions League.
The decision
From the start of the calendar year through the latest home meeting with Udinese, Inter have scored 41 times in 14 matches at San Siro. That works out at 2.92 goals per game, and they have found the net in every one of those fixtures.
The figure also stands up beyond Italy. Across Europe’s five major leagues over the same period, only Bayern Munich, with 49 home goals, and Barcelona, with 43, have scored more often on their own ground.
Chivu has extended an attacking standard established during Simone Inzaghi’s years in charge, while preserving a close connection with a support that continues to fill the stadium regardless of the opponent or the occasion. Inter have made a clear habit of taking control of matches at the Meazza and forcing visiting sides to deal with sustained pressure.
That approach was evident from Chivu’s first match as first-team coach, when Torino were beaten 5-0, and it has been reinforced at the beginning of the present campaign. Inter have scored five against Udinese, four against Monza and three against Napoli in their three home matches so far: 12 goals, at an average of four per game.
The next opportunity to protect that standard arrives immediately after the international break. Parma visit Milan on 10 October in the early match of Serie A’s sixth round, before Club Brugge arrive three days later for the second round of Champions League group-stage fixtures.
For Alberto Gilardino, recently appointed Parma coach, the trip will be an immediate test against the champions’ strongest current pattern. It will also bring Yann Sommer back to a stadium he knows well, this time as a former Inter player.
Sunday’s picture
Inter are level at the top of Serie A with the two Rome clubs, and their output at San Siro gives them a significant platform as the early table takes shape. Maintaining that pace would help Chivu’s side strengthen their domestic position while responding to their recent Champions League defeat at the Bernabeu.
Europe provides an additional reason not to ease off. Goal difference can prove decisive in determining the final group standings, making the Brugge match and the subsequent Champions League visits to San Siro important chances for Inter to turn their home scoring record into an advantage beyond Serie A.
