Did I say Inter is unplayable? Not at all. They are a team bolstered by expensive signings who are capable of fighting for the scudetto, and coached by the most expensive manager in the league, who's paid more than double the salary of the second most expensive manager.
They are still in the early stages of their journey and will struggle against teams who can hit them in aspects that are more physical than tactical. In Serie A, I can comfortably predict that they'll struggle against Atalanta, Verona, Bologna..
I recall you describing them as unplayable early in the second half(I understand you meant for that specific period, not permanently).
Sure, they have moments in games that are really strong, but I think you're overrating them anyway. They were full of flaws in the previous Serie A games, in the derby last night and obviously also against Slavia. It doesn't look very different from last season. The Icardi drama is gone, for now, but how good can their attack get with Lukaku's linkup play?
I think it's Inter who over-rely on physicality & athleticism.
They don't have a reply to opponents who can match them or outshine them in that department. That's because they aren't very good in the other departments. They'll struggle against more than just the physical sides. Red cards & PKs won't bail them out forever against parked buses.
But we aren't like those teams are we? We are a team that's being built in a very tactical, ball-oriented style, without a single player capable of physically dominating opponents (except for the goalkeeper). That's a path that we have chosen. Until (IF) we reach a particular level in that approach, we can't really compete toe-to-toe with teams like Inter. Right now, we aren't even 20% as good from a ball-playing approach as even the Empoli of 2018/19 (which is the best comparison in terms of playing style). We can only hope Milan will continue improving on this path. Giampaolo is not really good for any other style of football.
The team isn't built or playing well in any particular way.
Tactically the team is risk minimizing. That's about the only thing you can say about them which could be interpreted as a good quality.
We have plenty of players that seem to handle a physical, intensive game. It's actually more than the amount who can handle a narrow, ball-oriented one. A direct, intensive game doesn't mean an XI of headless, unskilled brutes. Napoli of the last years is a good example of that. We should aim for something similar.
