I've heard the saying, and I have seen it in action.
It's always harder to play against the team with one less man.
I get it. But in Inter's case against Fiorentina, they went a step further, and were outplayed by Fiorentina who had their captain sent off late in the first half.
This wasn't before Inter had already gone three goals up, and looked to have gotten their first emphatic win under new coach Pioli. Even when Fiorentina pulled a goal back through Kalinic, it looked as though it was enough of a cushion.
But Inter are a problematic team, and when they had the man advantage, you could see just how much work Pioli has to do. He has all the talent at his disposal, with players like Banega, Mario, and Perisic to choose from but there is a mental problem, a very soft core and no real character or backbone.
While Fiorentina were moving the ball around smartly, using the ball economically, Inter had no shape and no direction. Balls were hoisted up to Icardi, who had no support to work with. The midfield was non-existent and there was panic all around as they tried to make their extra man count.
I don't care whether it's early days for him. There was a lack of leadership on his part to try and calm his team down in the second half, and instruct them to keep their shape and hold onto the ball.
This is the A,B,C of management. When your opponent is behind, and are desperate to get that goal, kill the game off, keep possession and look for stoppages to break up the rhythm of the game. Why didn't Pioli send these instructions out?
A top three for Inter isn't going to happen this season, but maybe a top seven finish is possible. It's just a shame that the management is so poor and a situation arose where Mancini had to leave his post and a team that he built.
That's the bottom line. From now until the end of the season, this is Mancini's team, and any manager taking over won't be able to be as effective as he would have been if he were in the dugout.
HH
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