After Pep's opening two games for Inter, September is a comfortable month for the club. Two 3-0 victories follow the Juventus result, against both Parma and SPAL, leading to the premature headlines that Inter, and Pep, would walk the league this season, especially having already overcome two of their toughest obstacles in the first two games.
A 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the club's opening Champions League game does little to give the Italian media any perspective. Keita Baldé has been one of the clubs key players over the course of the season, along with Antonio Candreva, which is just as well because either Icardi or Martinez have been scoring goals as much as Pep would like. Martinez certainly offers more to the team when he doesn't score, however as Icardi is more of an out-and-out poacher it's much more difficult for Pep to continue playing him if he's not scoring.
After the away win in Kyiv, a tough game against 19th place Frosinone sees a last minute goal from Candreva give the Nerazzurri a 1-0 win. In the press conference that follows, Pep says he is "not happy" about the result and that he doesn't think any of his players played well at all. When asked if he thinks the club will win the league this season, he immediately, and sternly, says no. "We do not have the mentality yet."
Almost as if the players were listening in on the press conference, the following game against bottom of the table Empoli sees them drop their first points of the season as the team scrapes a 1-1 draw. After conceding in the first 10 minutes, only an 85th minute equaliser from Lautaro Martinez saves them from complete humiliation. Despite having 17 shots to Empoli's 2, the two clubs share the points. Guardiola keeps the team in the dressing room afterwards for 45 minutes after the game and, when he speaks to the media, it is clear that he is unhappy with his team's recent performances.
Despite this, Inter find themselves in 4th place with a game in hand. Juventus and Napoli have had much greater struggles with their new managers than Inter have and find themselves two points behind having played one extra game. There's still a lot of football to be played.
Rumours are already circulating about the following summer's transfer targets despite the fact that Pep is only a few months into his reign at Inter. The defenders on the list include Benjamin Pavard, Matija Nastasic and Joe Gomez. In midfield, Wilfried Ndidi, Gedson Fernandes, João Félix and Milinkovic-Savic make the list, whilst Jadon Sancho, Andrea Belotti and Fiete Arp make up the attackers. One thing is for certain, Inter certainly aren't being thrifty in the summer of 2019 if Pep has anything to say about it.
2nd October 2018 - Ajax (H)
It's the first home game in the Champions League at the San Siro for six years and the Milano faithful make their return known with an impressive tifo, which reads "We are back". Pep applauds the fans as he steps out onto the pitch - he's missed this. Manchester City fans can create an atmosphere when they want to but Pep hasn't been a part of anything like this since his time at Bayern.
The group is currently looking quite different to how it was anticipated after the first round of fixtures. Ajax came up with a surprise victory over Madrid in their first game, taking them top of the table. A routine win for Inter over Kyiv took them second in the table and a win today would take them top.
Ajax are without two of their key players, Matthijs de Ligt, who was bought by Chelsea in the summer, and Frenkie de Jong, who was bought by Tottenham. Pep knows this has made them significantly weaker, however they've also just given Real Madrid a beating and Ajax are a team with a clear identity and way of playing.
Pep sticks with the trusted formation - however Skriniar has picked up an injury in training which will keep him out for the next month and so Ranocchia steps up in his place. Gagliardini and Brozovic is the preferred midfield pairing whilst Lautaro Martinez maintains his spot in the side. The obvious threats from Ajax are Ziyech and Tadic.
The first chance comes within the first couple of minutes, as Kwadwo Asamoah rattles the crossbar from a free kick. Another couple of minutes after that, Keita Baldé makes an run across the penalty area after cutting in from the right, letting a shot loose which whistles wide. Inter are making their intent known early.
After half an hour it's a set-piece which gives Guardiola's side the lead, as Candreva whips in a corner which Miranda meets at the near post, catching Onana off-guard and heading it just inside the post. The San Siro erupts and Guardiola cheers with them, Inter go in at half-time with a 1-0 lead.
Guardiola's men continue to apply the pressure in the second half. Gagliardini heads just over after yet another good cross from Candreva and, despite the fact that Ajax enjoy more possession than the Italian side, there's only one team that looks like scoring, and just before the hour mark they do just that.
The substituted Nainggolan sprays the ball out wide to Antonio Candreva who, as is becoming incredibly regular for him, whips in a perfect cross. It finds the head of Keita Baldé, who heads past the Ajax keeper with ease. 2-0 to Inter and this game looks done. Inter put the nail in the coffin in the last minute of injury time as yet another corner finds its way to an Inter player, this time Lautaro Martinez, who heads in at the back post to make it 3-0.
The result is convincing, but what is less convincing is the manner of the victory. Ajax created very few high quality chances, however they claimed 58% of the possession and all three of Inter's goals came from headers, two of which were set pieces. This is hardly the tiki-taka style that the Catalan is known for. Ultimately, wins are wins, yet Guardiola himself will be frustrated that yet another game has passed them by where they've been second best on the ball.
7th October 2018 - Genoa (H)
Next up for Inter is a home game against Genoa, a team currently sitting two points behind them in the table (having played a game more than Inter). Irrespective of the team's current positions after only seven games, it's a game that Guardiola will be expecting his team to win.
Off the pitch, there are rumours that Borja Valero has expressed his unhappiness within the club that his game time has been significantly reduced since Guardiola arrived at the club. Guardiola is apparently willing to give him game time but insists that it must be repaid and that poor performances, especially for a player of his age and salary, will do him no favours in the coming transfer windows.
Valero makes the match day squad in a fully changed midfield, which sees Nainggolan come in for Gagliardini. Guardiola sticks with the same front three as Candreva's hat-trick of assists combined with Keita and Martinez's goals ensure their place is retained. Genoa play an incredibly defensive formation, with five at the back and two holding midfielders. A lack of presence between the defence and attacking trio leaves a huge gap for Inter's midfield to expose, though Krzysztof Piatek is the obvious danger man.
Less than a quarter of an hour passes before the threat of Piatek is realised. The first real chance of the match leads to Keita misplacing a pass, allowing Genoa to smother it before the ball finds its way to Miguel Veloso in front of the Genoa back four. He looks up and quickly hits it long, allowing Piatek to run onto it and outrun Miranda. He makes no mistake, hitting the ball at an angle into the opposite corner and past a flailing Handanovic. 1-0 to Genoa after only 11 minutes and Guardiola is not happy. He turns away, screaming to himself in Spanish as he removes his coat and throws it to the ground in outrage.
Inter quickly come close to an equaliser as Dalbert hits a free kick from almost 30 yards, curling it expertly around the Genoa wall and forcing a low save from the keeper at the bottom corner. The equaliser does eventually come, however, after 20 minutes. Dalbert throws the ball in on Inter's left, just on the edge of Genoa's area. Valero cuts in and runs along the edge of the area and hits it, curling it at the far post and past an outstretched Marchetti. Valero celebrates wildly but Guardiola does not. His team shouldn't be in this position to begin with.
Valero runs the midfield for the remainder of the first half as Genoa's deep midfield gives him a lot of time and space on the ball. He comes close to giving Inter the lead as he hits the bar, yet Genoa provide the sucker punch on the 41st minute. They take a corner and De Vrij heads it clear, the ball loops seemingly harmlessly away, yet their winger, Lazovic, has other ideas. He hits the ball on the volley with Zidane-esque technique, sending the ball rocketing into the top corner as Handanovic can get nowhere near it. The Genoa team is beside themselves having snatched a lead just before half time and Guardiola rushes out to the edge of his technical area, holding his arms out wide as if to ask the entire Inter squad one question - "do you even care?"
The first half drama doesn't end there, however, as Candreva once again provides a vital assist from a corner. This time it finds the head of Lautaro, who stoops low to head it in at the near post. It's awful defending from Genoa but Inter make them pay. The two sides go into the dressing rooms at 2-2, yet Guardiola is furious as he walks down the tunnel, shouting and gesturing wildly with his staff.
Inter emerge from the changing rooms a whole minute later than the Genoa team but they look fired up. Guardiola follows them and sits in the dugout, watching his team closely as they kick off for the second half.
It turns out to be an even second half for the two teams, with few chances created beyond a couple of set pieces. In the 65th minute, however, Genoa waste possession in the middle of the pitch and Inter pounce. Nainggolan retrieves the ball and lays it off to Valero, who plays a quick ball over the top down Inter's left flank. He finds Keita, who whips a quick cross into Martinez on the edge of the six yard box. He makes no mistake and Inter take the lead for the first time in the game, 3-2. Guardiola celebrates for the first time in the game, giving Valero the thumbs up in particular for the way he spotted the run of Keita.
Inter don't let up, pressing their advantage and looking for a goal to kill the game. There's a disallowed goal for Inter as Ranocchia is judged to be offside as he heads the ball into the net after some good play from a Valero free kick. In the 79th minute, Vecino, fresh after being brought off the bench, runs the ball through the midfield and passes the ball to Martinez, who is on the edge of Genoa's area. He holds the ball up before spotting the run of Keita and plays a neat pass between two defenders. Keita is left with a one-on-one and he makes no mistake, hitting the ball in at the keeper's near post. 4-2. Genoa's players drop their heads. The game is won.
Pep is not filled with praise in the press conference which follows - quite the opposite. Once again Inter have come up second in the possession charts (though this time with only a 49/51 swing). "We cannot play the way I want us to play if we have less than half of the possession. In that situation, the opposition control the ball, if they control the ball then they control the game. We need to get better at this."
When asked about the wonder goal scored against them by Lazovic, Pep begrudgingly praises Lazovic. "It's a great goal, no doubt. However I would like my teams to be winning the second ball there. The second balls are the most important battles to be won on the pitch. Clearing the ball means nothing if you're going to hit it back to their player."
In the mixed zone, Valero is asked what was said at half time. "The manager told us that we didn't look like we care and that we didn't want to win. He told us that if anybody dropped their head in the first five minutes of the second half they would be immediately brought off and wouldn't play again for the rest of the month. I think we rose to the challenge."
One thing is for sure, Pep isn't letting his team get away with these performances, even when they're getting the points at the end of them.
23rd October 2018 - Real Madrid (A)
After a 0-0 draw with Bologna over the weekend, Guardiola has some changes to make for his second Champions League game, this time against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. The Bernabeu holds plenty of memories for Pep, especially during his time as Barcelona manager when his rivalry with José Mourinho was at its peak. His most recent journey to the stadium, however, saw his Bayern Munich team lose 1-0 in the first leg of a semi-final in which he lost 5-0 on aggregate. He has a score to settle.
Antonio Candreva picked up an injury just before full-time in the 4-2 victory over Genoa and so, as he did against Bologna, he misses out. Politano steps up in his place, whilst Keita and Martinez replace Perisic and Icardi, who both featured in the 0-0 against Bologna and were both well below standard. Gagliardini and Valero return to the centre of midfield and they have a tough job on their hands, tasked with keeping Casemiro, Modric and Isco quiet. Asensio, Benzema and Bale pose a powerful threat up top. This isn't going to be easy.
Or is it? Within three minutes a cross from Asamoah playing into the far post gives Politano a chance to take Inter into the lead, forcing a great stop from Thibaut Courtois. In the 8th minute, a free kick from Isco is whipped into Inter's penalty area but it's easily claimed by Handanovic, who throws it quickly out to Asamoah. Keita comes back to pick the ball up before switching the play to Vrsaljko. He plays the ball to Politano who runs forward and spots Keita's run into the box, playing a pass which takes out three Madrid players. Keita is left one-on-one and slots it calmly past Courtois. 1-0 to Inter. Guardiola is lost in a huddle of staff as they celebrate together - this is Guardiola's football.
Only six minutes pass before Inter's lead is doubled. Handanovic rolls the ball out to De Vrij, who plays a quick pass to Valero who returns it to De Vrij, sucking in Madrid's attackers. Then De Vrij plays a long ball over the top of the Madrid team, leaving Lautaro to chase it down. He latches onto the ball and powers it past Courtois, sending the away support into a frenzy. Flares are lit amongst the Inter fans and Guardiola turns to them, raising his arms in celebration. 2-0 to Inter at the Bernabeu.
Inter defend resolutely for the next half an hour and Madrid are restricted to few chances. However the deficit is halved in the 64th minute, as a Kroos corner finds the head of Isco who heads home. How Isco, possibly the smallest player on the pitch, is allowed to win a header from a corner astonishes Guardiola, who once again is left gesticulating wildly on the sidelines.
Guardiola responds quickly, substituting Perisic and Brozovic for the tiring Keita and Valero. The fresh legs provide Inter with a bit more control over the game and Perisic heads narrowly wide after coming on. Despite this, Vrsaljko is forced to clear a Bale header off the line after a Real Madrid corner, a quick reminder that this game is anything but over.
Inter win a corner in the 93rd minute and Vrsaljko whips the corner in to the near post. Keita meets it and heads it in with ease, killing the game. Guardiola punches the air and laughs. Three wins out of three in the Champions League. A 3-1 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. This is going well.
The Champions League is shaping up nicely for Inter. A draw at Ajax has given Inter a 5 point cushion at the top of the table and, whilst winning the competition certainly wasn't expected by either Guardiola or the club at this stage, it appears that they're finding it much easier than anticipated.
In the league, Inter remain firmly in the chase for a Champions League place with just under a quarter of the season played. There's a game in hand still to make up and, whilst Guardiola's football hasn't taken hold fully just yet, he's still getting results. Pep is confident that the only way is up.
