Champions League Nights, Ups & Downs In Serie A, Transfer Soap Operas – A Crazy 2023 For Inter Milan In Review

It would be an understatement to say that Inter Milan had a crazy 2023.

From January to December, from ups and downs on the pitch to several high-profile transfer soap operas, it was an emotional year that saw the Nerazzurri fully live up to their “Pazza Inter” nickname.

Inter began the year on an optimistic note.

The Nerazzurri beat Serie A league leaders Napoli in their first match of the year. They came out on top by a 1-0 scoreline at the San Siro.

That match gave some hope that Inter could go on to push the Partenopei for the title.

But in Inter’s very next match, an anticlimactic 2-2 draw away to Monza would be the match that set the tone for the rest of the Nerazzurri’s Serie A season.

January: The Beginning Of The End For Milan Skriniar’s Story At Inter

Piling the misery on Inter following the erratic form on the pitch was a difficult situation off of it.

Slovakian international defender Milan Skriniar confirmed once and for all that he had decided to leave the Nerazzurri at the end of his contract with the club.

Inter had previously turned down offers from Paris Saint-Germain for Skriniar just a few months prior.

Then, the Nerazzurri faced contract talks with the defender and his representatives.

With Skriniar’s deal running out at the end of June of last year, the situation was very clear. Inter had to either convince the Slovak to sign a new deal, or else he’d leave on a free transfer in the summer.

There were talks, of course.

But already towards the end of 2022, the atmosphere was becoming more and more pessimistic.

Inter’s failure to get Skriniar to put pen to paper on a new contract by the end of December seemed to indicate that the former Sampdoria defender was drifting towards PSG.

And then in January of last year, Skriniar’s agent confirmed it. The player’s representative Roberto Sistici gave an interview where he made clear that negotiations with the Parisians were ongoing.

Sistici also blamed Inter for their handling of the situation – arguing that it was the Nerazzurri who had pushed Skriniar out by listening to offers for him the previous summer.

The timing of that interview was also controversial.

Sistici’s interview came out virtually at the same time as Skriniar received two avoidable yellow cards in the first half of a Serie A match against Empoli at the San Siro.

The defender received his marching orders. And Inter went on to lose that match 0-1.

Skriniar had needlessly let his team down as they fell to a shock home defeat that put one more nail in the coffin of their Serie A title hopes.

The timing was downright ominous. A player who had been wearing the captain’s armband for months – and could well have inherited it on a permanent basis – was all but out of the picture.

Skriniar would then miss much of the run-in of the season through injury.

But in truth, the 28-year-old’s story with Inter ended in January.

February: Continued Setbacks In Serie A, Champions League Knockout Run Begins

Inter did what they could to emerge from the black cloud of the Skriniar situation in Feburary.

The Nerazzurri began the month with a comprehensive 1-0 win over city rivals AC Milan.

The scoreline only hinted at Inter’s dominance on the pitch. And this also followed a 3-0 thrashing of the Rossoneri in the Supercoppa Italiana in January.

January had also seen Inter beat Parma and Atalanta in the Coppa Italia to reach the semifinals of that competition.

And in another knockout competition – the Champions League – Inter kicked off 2023 with a victory in February.

The Nerazzurri beat Portuguese giants Porto in the round of sixteen first leg at the San Siro.

It was a narrow 1-0 victory that gave Inter something to hold onto in the return leg.

But if that momentum seemed to give Inter something to hold onto and carry forward in the league, the pitch quickly told a different story.

The Nerazzurri fell to a brutally demoralizing defeat away to Bologna just a few days later.

Inter had also drawn away to Sampdoria earlier in the month. There was no hiding it – the team’s league form was becoming a big problem.

With the Serie A title a distant dream, the speculation about Inter coach Simone Inzaghi began to grow.

There were doubts about the ex-Lazio boss even guiding Inter into March. And the idea of his remaining in the summer seemed almost absurd.

March: More Serie A Misery, Job Done In Champions League Round Of Sixteen

Inter’s Serie A form didn’t get any better in March.

The Nerazzurri played three league matches in the month. The first was a fairly routine 2-0 victory over Lecce at home.

But a surprise loss away to Spezia came as yet another derailment for Inter.

Inzaghi’s team were no longer fighting for the title – they were scrapping for a place in the top four.

And a 0-1 loss against Juventus at the San Siro was just one more setback in that respect.

But on the other hand, in Europe, Inter were continuing to get the job done.

A goalless draw away to Porto saw the Nerazzurri hold onto their slender advantage from the first leg of the Champions League round of sixteen tie.

Inter had to suffer and bite their nails right to the end. It was a gritty defensive performance on the whole, but the final minutes of the match were high drama.

Porto battered the Nerazzurri goal late on as they searched for a late equalizer in the tie.

And Inter had goalkeeper Andre Onana to thank for a miraculous double save on Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, making sure all the team’s defensive effort didn’t go to waste.

The Nerazzurri were in the last eight of Europe’s premier club competition.

April: Inzaghi’s Future Cast In Serious Doubt Amid Disastrous Form In Serie A

If the first three months were bad ones for Inter in Serie A, April was a downright awful one.

Inter made it three home defeats in the league in a row. Having lost to Juventus 0-1 at the San Siro in March, the Nerazzurri lost to Fiorentina and Monza by the same scoreline in front of their fans.

Sandwiched between these two home losses was a 1-1 draw away to Salernitana.

That result was made all the more bitter by the fact that the relegation battlers had scored very late on – Antonio Candreva’s cross sailing right in over the head of Onana.

Inter’s run of five matches with just one point would have been pitiful for a team aiming to keep themselves within the top flight, let alone one with credible title aspirations.

And the Nerazzurri found themselves outside of the top four of the league table.

Failure to secure Champions League football for the following season would have been an outright disaster for Inter.

And it led to the impression that Inzaghi had one foot out the door as coach.

Even if the 47-year-old could somehow turn it around, the complete lack of consistency in league form created firm doubt that the club trusted their coach at the helm beyond the end of the season.

On the other hand, a convincing 2-0 win away to Benfica was a lifeline.

Inter planted one foot in the Champions League semifinals with that victory away in Lisbon.

And then they finished the job at the San Siro, with a wild 3-3 draw enough for Inter to reach the next round of the competition.

And in the Coppa Italia, Inter reached the final of Italy’s main domestic cup competition for the second season in a row.

The Nerazzurri saw off Juventus over two legs.

It was a controversial tie where a scandalous racism incident involving Inter striker Romelu Lukaku and fans of the Bianconeri overshadowed the action on the pitch somewhat.

But what was clear was that Inter, for all their woes in Serie A, were only gaining steam in knockout competitions.

Then in the last two matches of the month, the Nerazzurri finally transferred that form to the league.

Inter beat Empoli away and Lazio at home in fairly convincing fashion to round out the month.

May: Milan Derby Glory In Champions League

May was a triumphant month for Inter, and the highlight of it was undoubtedly the second leg of a Champions League semifinal derby against AC Milan.

The Nerazzurri had already beaten the Rossoneri in the Supercoppa Italiana and Serie A in 2023.

And they did so twice more in two of the highest-profile derby matches in recent memory.

An emphatic 3-0 scoreline on aggregate gave Inter passage into the final of Europe’s biggest club competition.

But beyond that, the emotions of Lautaro Martinez sealing the win at San Siro in front of a largely Inter crowd would live long in the memory.

May was a month of redemption for Inter on the whole.

The Nerazzurri’s form in Serie A was the inverse of their horrific run in the spring.

Four wins and one loss – away to champions-elect Napoli – saw Inter finally secure their spot in the top four.

And in the Coppa Italia, Inter saw off Fiorentina in the final. They lifted their second piece of silverware for the season and their fourth under Inzaghi.

Having endured four fairly brutal months at the start of 2023, Inter suddenly had the wind in their sails.

And they needed it for what awaited them in the following month.

June: Champions League Heartbreak Vs Man City

Inter had seen off not just Porto, Benfica, and Milan to reach the Champions League final.

The Nerazzurri had also knocked out Barcelona from the group stage.

But the team waiting for Inter in the final were an even tougher test.

English champions Manchester City had looked unstoppable for much of the campaign.

And this led to the distinct sense that Inter were the underdogs in the Champions League final in Istanbul.

But that was not how things looked when the two teams actually met.

Inter went toe-to-toe with City for the entire first half of the match. This only increased Nerazzurri hope and confidence.

Then in the second half, the Premier League side broke through – midfielder Rodri scored what would prove to be the only goal of the match.

Far from putting Inter to rest, though, that goal only provoked the Nerazzurri to throw everything at the Cityzens in a desperate attempt at a comeback.

There were several good chances for Inter to equalize. Striker Lukaku infamously blocked his own teammate Federico Dimarco’s shot inadvertently in one of them.

And that seemed to sum up Inter’s night.

It was an impressive performance on the grandest stage, and won the respect of the neutrals.

But it just wasn’t to be Inter’s day. The Nerazzurri had to settle for runners-up status.

It was still, when the dust settled, an immensely impressive showing in the Champions League by Inter all throughout 2023.

Coach Simone Inzaghi beamed with pride at what his players had done. And the fans at the stadium serenaded the players jubilantly despite the defeat.

There was a great deal for Inter to take confidence from moving into the following season. But above all, there was heartbreak.

July: Lukaku Out, Thuram In

Inter decided to overhaul their squad in the summer transfer window of 2023.

Therefore, July would be an incredibly hectic month in the transfer market for the Nerazzurri.

Big names like Marcelo Brozovic, Edin Dzeko, and Samir Handanovic were out.

And in the biggest money move, Inter completed a deal to sell goalkeeper Onana to Manchester United.

Coming in the other direction, players like Davide Frattesi and Yann Bisseck added youth to the squad.

And Juan Cuadrado completed a shock move from Juventus on a free transfer.

The Colombian was a player with whom there was no love lost with Inter fans. Not after eight years of flashpoint incidents in Derby d’Italia matches.

But the Colombian veteran switched his allegiances from Bianconeri to Nerazzurri all the same.

All these stories interlocked in a tangled mesh.

But the two biggest threads concerned Inter’s attack.

Striker Marcus Thuram signed a five-year deal on July 1st, when his contract with Borussia Monchengladbach expired.

Several other clubs had tried to sign the Frenchman – most notable Milan and PSG. But in the end, he chose Inter on a free transfer.

And then Inter’s relationship with Lukaku collapsed in the most dramatic fashion.

After it had seemed for weeks like it was only a matter of time before the Nerazzurri would sign the Belgian – who had been on loan from Chelsea the previous season – permanently, things took a soap opera turn.

Inter learned that Lukaku had been openly negotiating with bitter rivals Juventus the entire time.

And furthermore, the Belgian baffled teammates and club directors alike as he refused to answer phone calls during the most chaotic period of the transfer saga.

Lukaku’s antics completely alienated Inter. Reports suggest that Nerazzurri Sporting Director Piero Ausilio severed the relationship with the striker in a brief, angry phone call.

August: Inter Land Benjamin Pavard, Samardzic Soap Opera

August was not much calmer than July for Inter.

There was still plenty of transfer business left to do.

A diverse case of players – Yann Sommer, Carlos Augusto, Emil Audero, Marko Arnautovic, Alexis Sanchez – all signed on the dotted line to become Inter players.

But one player who didn’t join the Nerazzurri was Udinese midfielder Samardzic.

The 21-year-old did, however, undergo medicals on a move to Inter.

In a transfer saga that rivalled the Skriniar and Lukaku situations in terms of controversy and acrimony, Samardzic’s move to Inter collapsed at the eleventh hour.

The Nerazzurri had completely agreed a deal to sign the Serbian former RB Leipzig midfielder from Udinese.

And personal terms appeared to be all in place with the player.

But then Samardzic’s entourage – led by the player’s father – attempted to renegotiate at a point when even the medicals were completed.

Inter angrily pulled the plug. The club felt strongly that they had already secured an agreement in talks mediated by prominent agent Rafaela Pimenta.

So Samardzic stayed at Udinese.

Meanwhile, Inter began their Serie A campaign for the current season in August. 2-0 wins over Monza and Cagliari set the right tone for a fresh title charge.

And at the end of the month, Inter signed defender Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich.

The Nerazzurri paid a big fee to land the 2018 World Cup winner. Pavard was a long-term target for Inter to replace Skriniar.

It was a feel-good ending to a stormy transfer window. Even if Pavard was not actually the last signing Inter made.

The Nerazzurri brought in Davy Klaassen from Ajax in a free transfer that came out of nowhere, and went through in the final hours of deadline day.

September: Five From Five In The Milan Derby

Emerging from a chaotic summer, Inter looked stronger than ever in September.

The Nerazzurri beat Fiorentina 4-0 at the San Siro to start the month. There could hardly have been a clearer statement of intent in the Serie A title race.

Then later in the month, the Nerazzurri demolished city rivals Milan by a 5-1 scoreline.

That was the fifth time the derby rivals had met in 2023. And Inter had won every single one of them.

Midfielder Frattesi enjoyed perhaps his most memorable moment in an Inter shirt to date by rounding off the win with a stoppage time goal.

Then came Inter’s first real stumble of the season.

The Nerazzurri snatched a 1-1 draw in their Champions League group stage opener away to Real Sociedad despite having been roundly outplayed.

And in Serie A, Inter squandered a first-half advantage to fall to their first and only defeat of the season, against Sassuolo at the San Siro.

But even in spite of this, the mood remained positive.

Striker Martinez scored a remarkable four goals against Salernitna to end the month. This despite the fact that the 26-year-old hadn’t even started the match.

Martinez had inherited the captain’s armband during the summer. And he was getting his first campaign with the armband off to a roaring start.

October: San Siro Whistles For Romelu Lukaku

After striker Lukaku had burned his bridges with Inter, there was uncertainty about what he would do next.

In the end, the 30-year-old joined a different team in Serie A – but it wasn’t Juventus despite the flirtations.

Roma landed Lukaku in the final days of the transfer window.

Therefore, the Belgian was on a collision course with Inter.

Roma travelled to the San Siro to face the Nerazzurri at the end of October. And the Inter faithful had plans for the Giallorossi’s star striker.

Inter ultras group the Curva Nord distributed whistles to use against the Belgian.

There were some efforts by the authorities to stop their use. But they were nevertheless audible during the match.

Whether it was the disturbance of this angry reception, or just a bad night at the office, Lukaku put in an anonymous display leading the Roma line.

And it was Inter’s big July arrival Thuram who was the hero on the night. The 26-year-old scored the match’s only goal.

Inter enjoyed a feel-good night at the San Siro to end a month that had also seen important wins over Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League at their home stadium.

In Serie A, the Nerazzurri had drawn against Bologna in front of their fans. But there was also a convincing victory away to Torino.

November: Serie A Title Charge On Course

That win over Roma had given Inter a big foothold in the Serie A title race.

And a victory away to Atalanta at the start of November solidified it.

More broadly, November saw AC Milan and Napoli – the two previous Serie A champions – seriously falter to fall out of the title race.

And Juventus emerged as Inter’s main rivals.

The Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri met in Turin in the first match back from the November international break.

That match was a cagey 1-1 stalemate that did little to suggest either side would break free in the title race as Napoli had done during the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, Inter secured their place in the Champions League knockouts for the third season in a row by beating Salzburg away.

A crazy 3-3 comeback draw ended the month. Inzaghi played a very heavily-rotated team in a group stage match away in Lisbon, trusting some rarely-seen names to overcome a 3-0 halftime deficit and snatch an improbable point.

December: Coppa Italia Exit, Arnautovic Backheel Lights Up Serie A Title Race

In the final month of 2023, Inter experienced one major disappointment.

The Nerazzurri crashed out of the Coppa Italia at the first opportunity.

Having come back from a goal down in extra time during each of the past two seasons, this time the story was reversed.

Inter scored first, but the Rossoblu responded with two late goals to knock the Nerazzurri out.

Inzaghi and Inter wouldn’t be able to defend their Coppa Italia crown from the past two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri finished second in their Champions League group following a goalless draw with Real Sociedad.

That meant that Inter knew they’d be getting a theoretically tougher draw for the round of sixteen.

Inter drew Atletico Madrid ion the end. The Nerazzurri perhaps avoided teams like Man City and Bayern Munich.

But Inzaghi and his players know that the same kind of tie as last season’s against Porto awaits them in February.

Meanwhile in Serie A, Inter maintained their lead at the top of the table.

A draw away to Genoa was perhaps a flat note on which to end the year.

But preceding it were five consecutive league victories.

Among these were convincing away wins against Napoli and Lazio – last season’s champions and runners up.

And striker Arnautovic came to the fore in the absence of captain Martinez through injury.

The Austrian produced a brilliant improvised backheel in a 2-0 win over Lecce. Then he scored his first ever goal for Inter in Serie A against Genoa.

The sense is that former West Ham United and Stoke City veteran Arnautovic is just starting to find his feet at Inter after a tough start that included a six-week injury layoff.

Heading into 2024, the best way to describe the atmosphere at Inter would probably be “cautiously optimistic.”

There’s no question that a bruising title race with Juventus awaits the Nerazzurri.

But after a wild 2023, the team has more self-belief than ever.

And in the meantime, Inter are already intervening in the transfer market.

The Nerazzurri are on the verge of completing a deal to sign Canadian international Tajon Buchanan from Club Brugge.

The 24-year-old will essentially replace Juan Cuadrado.

Cuadrado will miss much of the rest of the season after undergoing calf surgery.

The 35-year-old showed a few flashes of his quality during the season, but made just one start as persistent fitness issues restricted him from gaining much of a foothold.

Cuadrado’s move was controversial, but in the end his season has been a very muted one.

The surprise transfer and subsequent injury problem of of the veteran are one more plot point in a 2023 of enormous ups and downs for Inter.

And the arrival of the young Buchanan to replace him will be the first in 2024.

But if the coming year is anything like the one just gone, it will prove to be little more than a footnote.