Numbers Corner: A delightful Monday

Last time Inter and Cagliari faced each other it was a one sided match, in which the Sardinian absolutely crushed the Nerazzurri, winning 4-1 against a 10-men team which was still under the guidance of Walter Mazzarri. Yesterday it was different: Inter Milan are now a solid squad that plays well for most of the game with confidence and will and this time were the Nerazzurri were able to best Cagliari, beating them 2-1.

This is Inter's second game played on Monday this season, which may be a lucky day of the week for the team, since they won their previous Monday match against Chievo as well.

This is Inter's first three game winning streak since November 2012.

Scoreless, but impressive first half
Even if the first 45 minutes ended 0-0, Inter were absolutely dominant in this span of time and if it wasn't for Podolski, who failed to score in several easy occasions, the result could - and should - have been different. I will throw some numbers here just to show how good our team was in this half: 67% of ball possession (62% at the end of the game); 12 shots attempted, 5 on target and only 3 shots tried by Cagliari; 307 successful passes with an 86% accuracy (474 at the final whistle with an 84% accuracy).

15 minutes of chaos
After Kovacic's goal, which came two minutes after the start of the second half, Inter Milan showed all the defensive weaknesses that have characterized the team since the start of the season and that don't allow supporters to be completely relaxed even when the match should be out of reach for the opposition. In particular, yesterday, there were 15 minutes, from the 50th to the 65th, in which the whole squad seemed totally different from the one that dominated for most of the time. In that span Cagliari attempted 7 shots (they shot the ball 13 times overall), took 6 corners - and were ealmost always threatening to score; while Inter were unable to take the ball from the opposition, failing 5 tackles out of 9 attempted. Fortunately, despite the fact Inter allowed Cagliari ample opportunities to score, they were unable to do so. Inter have their keeper, Carrizo, to thank for that. He was always ready when necessary (and a bit lucky sometimes).

Santon, an almost perfect machine
When Inter re-acquired him from Newcastle this winter some fans raised their eyebrows, thinking it wasn't a great move - just a romantic choice. So far, Il Bambino (the Baby, as Mourinho called him) has proved his detractors wrong. This season he played just 58 minutes in FA Cup prior to his arrival in Milan, since then he has started every match, being subbed only one time (5 minutes from the end of the match) and has played better and better, game after game. Perhaps his most impressive stats are his passing accuracy: overall, in the last 3 league games, he completed 91% of his attempted passes, which are 57 per game, a percentage that, if maintained, could put him among the best in the world for this category. He left Baby, came back Warrior.