Inter Milan: The lion with the heart of a mouse!

Inter may still win the Serie A title this season by earning the most points, winning the most matches, and scoring the most goals, but that title will be overshadowed by the fact they are not the strongest team in the league. The strongest team cannot lose as many as four and win only one out of six matches against three direct competitors.

The 0-1 defeat to Milan in the recent return derby mocked Inter's top position on the Serie A table. Coach Cristian Chivu and his team sit at the summit only by "bullying" weaker opponents. They resemble diligent mountain climbers rather than conquerors who trample over everyone.

The heart of a mouse

Losing to Milan in a match Inter didn't absolutely need to win means the defeat isn't utterly devastating, but two things disappointed Inter fans more than the loss itself. These were Federico Dimarco's shot over the bar early in the second half and Chivu's "silence" throughout the 95 minutes at San Siro.

Dimarco had a golden opportunity in the 54th minute when he had space to shoot inside Milan's penalty area, but he sent both the ball and Inter's chance to equalize over the crossbar with an ill-considered shot. Interisti couldn't help feeling that even their brightest star, the one most expected to help Inter win, had betrayed them. More notably, that was almost the only moment Dimarco proved his presence in a match where he was completely "lost." Inter's impotence against Milan once again (both Serie A matches Inter failed to score this season were against Milan) further confirms Inter's excessive reliance on Dimarco.

And Chivu? The 45-year-old Inter coach saw that, but didn't know how to help Dimarco escape being tightly marked. He also saw the ineffectiveness of the young striker pair throughout the match, especially Pio Esposito who hardly touched the ball, but had no solution to improve the attacking threat. He could have withdrawn a striker, increased midfield numbers to disrupt Milan's play, but didn't. Knowing it was difficult, but failing to find a clever solution. The day before, Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti pushed Kenan Yildiz up as a false nine and opened a revolutionary idea, while Chivu dared not make any breakthrough move.

Dimarco and Chivu are symbolic images of Inter's timid, lacking confidence psychology in big matches this season, which has occurred too many times without signs of improvement. Inter has lost to Milan (twice), Napoli, Juventus, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal with the same appearance fans utterly dislike. They are merely a lion with the heart of a mouse against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. Even their only win (3-2 against Juventus in the Serie A return match) is overshadowed by a referee scandal with the unjust red card for Juve's defender.

Avoiding their own past mistakes

The continuous poor performances in big matches are starting to raise questions about Chivu's future at Inter. If he doesn't mature in managing major battles, when a group of experienced players leave after this season (Mkhitaryan, Acerbi, De Vrij, Sommer, Darmian, and possibly Calhanoglu), that Inter will tend to be even more fragile and lacking in courage.

But that is a matter after the season ends; from now until then, Chivu and his students must ensure they don't throw away the championship trophy they already half hold. In the last four seasons, Inter twice wasted their leading advantage in March, then lost the Scudetto to Milan (2022) and Napoli (2025) due to declining form in the final rounds. The 7-point lead over Milan is still significant, but not impossible to erode. Just one more poor match could trigger a domino collapse effect.

What Inter must do is immediately forget the defeat, restore morale, look at the advantage they hold, and aim for the goal. Fortunately, no more Milan, Napoli, or Juventus await. Ahead for Inter are challenges considered difficult as they face all three teams competing for Top 4: Atalanta (just suffered a heavy loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League so will be very determined in Serie A), Roma, and Como. In the first half, they easily beat these three without conceding; what about the return? The form and spirit shown by Coach Chivu's team will speak volumes about their effort to improve their image and open hope for the future.