Against Lecce, the Albanian midfielder stepped up in the absence of the Turkish player, as happened in Florence after the Supercoppa. The Nerazzurri now have a reliable playmaker behind Hakan.
Personality and talent. It’s all Asllani’s cross to set up Lautaro Martinez for the goal that unlocked the match at the Via del Mare stadium. Kristjan makes his mark, not for the first time this season, where Inter has discovered they have a reliable playmaker behind the untouchable Calhanoglu. When Hakan is absent, the Nerazzurri do not suffer. In other words, the boy is growing, and he’s doing it well. The Turkish player’s endorsement, through social media, is proof: “Great, my brother.” Asllani’s response was, “Maestro.”
STILL PROMOTED
Watching the performance of the former Empoli player from the bench at the Via del Mare stadium, Calha likely breathed a sigh of relief: the role is secure. Who knows if it will be the same against Atalanta, an important test for the growth of the 21-year-old Albanian (who will turn 22 soon, on March 9th). Against Atalanta, in the absence of the Turkish player, it will once again fall to him, until Calhanoglu returns to his position. That’s why Inzaghi replaced Asllani once he received a yellow card: on Wednesday, Inter cannot do without Kristjan, someone who has always stepped up when called upon this season. In the league, this had only happened from the start in Florence, returning from the trip to Riyadh for the Italian Super Cup, when Asllani and Frattesi had to replace the suspended Barella and Calhanoglu, without making the absence of the two starters felt.
THE ASLLANI PROJECT
Everything is going according to plan. In the summer, when Inter decided to sacrifice Brozovic in favor of Calhanoglu as a playmaker, the idea was to give more space to Asllani, who was shut out last year due to fierce competition in midfield. Now, it’s only him behind Hakan. Here and there, between stints and opportunities as a starter (including two in the Champions League and one in the Coppa Italia), he’s been present. Against Lecce, he displayed all his personality and confidence in interpreting a delicate role: he made very few mistakes (only two misplaced passes and four balls lost) and set up Lautaro for the opening goal with a high-level cross from the wing. Inzaghi couldn’t have asked for more from the trip to Florence: the second-string players showed up. With Asllani, Inter has also found a reliable backup playmaker: now it’s on to Atalanta.
