For Inter, winning the Scudetto is like Italy at the World Cup: a must, or else it will be a failure

The key player will be back. Lautaro is set to return after missing seven matches through injury: this is his longest spell on the sidelines since he arrived in Italy eight years ago.

The captain was substituted with the score at 1-1 in Bodo: since then, including the Coppa Italia and Champions League, Inter have won just two matches (against Lecce and Genoa) out of eight, including the 3-1 away defeat in Norway.

These figures confirm Lautaro’s importance, though he alone is not enough: let’s not make him the saviour of the nation.

To fend off the challenges from Allegri and Conte, Chivu needs to get the whole team back on track, both physically and mentally. Not least because it’s not so easy to play for a Scudetto that seemed all but secured but which they now fear they might lose.

Given that, in the eyes of critics and the public alike, if Inter were to win this league, they would merely be doing their duty. Otherwise, it would be a failure, a bit like Italy in the World Cup qualifiers. Yet this is not such a ‘foregone’ conclusion – a term that applies only to Bayern Munich in Germany and Paris Saint-Germain in France. This is what Kolarov is referring to when he says: ‘With Inter, it all seems a given’.

Chivu sent out a strong and clear message on Saturday during the pre-match press conference at Appiano Gentile: "At a time when every match feels like a final, everyone must step up and take responsibility."

This statement was in response to a question about Thuram, but the same applies to the other leaders in the dressing room, starting with vice-captain Barella. Substituted, he was deeply disappointed on the bench over the mistake he made in the build-up to Fiorentina’s equaliser and headed straight to Coverciano before the other Inter players in the national squad.

Among them, Pio Esposito has issued an appeal (which has fallen on deaf ears, given the accusations levelled at the Inter contingent following the penalty shootout defeat in Bosnia) for the national team: “Put aside your support for your club teams and let’s all pull together for the good of Italy.”

The Inter dressing room should do the same ahead of their final fixtures against Roma, Como, Cagliari, Torino, Parma, Lazio, Verona and Bologna.