Inter: Barella’s decline shows in the numbers, but the post-derby remarks are a more serious warning sign
The worst player on the pitch in the derby, he has seen many of his statistics decline since the start of the year. His comment about the dressing room and Chivu’s decisions is also worrying.
Inter's 3-1 derby defeat extended their winless run in the fixture to seven matches, prompting soul-searching within the club. At the Giuseppe Meazza, many Inter players were short of full fitness. Even so, many came away with a damning verdict on one player in particular, partly because of his post-match comments: Nicolò Barella.
On the pitch, the Italian midfielder made significant mistakes. The numbers also confirm his clear decline compared with the last two seasons. His post-match interview raised further questions after he called out both his team-mates and manager Cristian Chivu in no uncertain terms.
What mistakes in the derby!
For Barella, the derby was one to forget. His average match rating is no higher than 4.5, with comments including "off-key", "slow" and "takes too many touches".
Each of Milan's three goals features an uncharacteristic lapse from him. For the first, he walks back and arrives too late to help the defence deal with the cross Pulisic rises to head. For the second, Rabiot sets off from Barella's position, but Barella lets him go past as though he poses no threat. Finally, Barella recklessly tries to bring the ball out of defence at his feet, loses it and commits the foul on the edge of the area that Moreira turns into a goal.
Numbers in decline
Barella's key statistics have fallen sharply compared with last season, particularly for a player with his attributes. The former Cagliari player is one of Italy's best midfielders when he is fit and at his best both physically and mentally.
Compared with last season, when he already seemed to be in decline, Barella still covers the same average distance per match. But his average sprint running has halved compared with a year ago (13.7 versus 7.8).
His average tackles per match have fallen from 1.6 to 1.1, while his ball recoveries are down from 4.9 to 4.3. He has also made 2 errors leading to an opposition goal, compared with 0 last year.
In possession, he loses the ball more often, 12.2 times per match versus 11.9, while his key passes and crossing accuracy have dipped slightly. Above all, his predicted xAssists, the attacking potential of passes that set up team-mates, have plunged from 6.62 to 1.74.
“We lack the right attitude. With this formation...
Barella isn't playing at the pace he set over the last two seasons. That makes him less of a threat and probably means he needs a few more matches off.
More worrying, though, is the impression that his biggest problem right now is mental as well as physical. His comments to Sky and DAZN after the match offered the clearest warning sign.
"Since the start of the year, we've lacked the right attitude. That's a bad thing. We've also shown our strength in the second halves of matches, but not every game is the same. Fatigue takes its toll. We need to look each other in the eye. For some time now, we haven't approached the derby in the best way. Being the strongest is not enough, and we've been the strongest before without winning. Not having fresh attacking substitutes on the bench probably influenced
the manager's decisions, and we tried to do something different, perhaps losing our sense of certainty".
Bremer-style remarks, a warning sign
Alessandro Bastoni was the first to speak out. Ahead of the Champions League match against Shakhtar, he said: "The Champions League finals are a long way off; let’s keep our feet on the ground." Chivu then said before a match: "If we haven’t won a derby for a while, we need to ask ourselves a question; we need to go back to being more provincial."
Today, it was Barella's turn. He spoke after a very poor individual performance, and his remarks sounded more like an outburst than self-criticism. It was a PR own goal much like Gleison Bremer's a few weeks ago, which sparked a minor crisis at Juventus.
Barella's dig at Chivu and the dressing-down he gave his team-mates over their attitude point to a lack of shared purpose. That is a more serious warning sign than the many poor starts or the matches they failed to recover. The Romanian manager confirmed it after the match: "We’re lacking a bit of hunger."
If Inter want to get going again and turn around a season that is far from lost, they must start there. They are still very much in contention on all fronts.
