Overview
After losing a series of titles last season in a particularly painful way, Inter Milan has soon parted ways with coach Simone Inzaghi. He was a big part in bringing the Nerazzurri back to the top of the Italian league.
Inter were eliminated in the Coppa Italia semi-finals by AC Milan, to let Scudetto slip to Napoli just 1 point behind in a dramatic race, then suffered a disastrous defeat to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final. The consecutive shocks made Inzaghi exhausted and had to leave.
After being rejected by Cesc Fabregas ( Como) and former player Patrick Vieira, Inter's leadership decided to put their trust in Cristian Chi Vu. This is a member of the Inter squad that won the treble in 2010.
Having just settled down on the bench of top coaching, Chivu has used the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as a stepping stone to renew Inter and heal psychological scars. The Nerazzurri passed the group stage with an unbeaten record, but fell 0-2 to Fluminense in the round of 16.
After that, they take advantage of their precious break to recharge. Returning to a shortened pre-season, Inter won all 3 friendly matches.
Now the real challenge is starting. Inter opened the season by hosting Torino - the opponent they have defeated 11/12 of their most recent times in Serie A, in which the last 6 matches have a total score of 12-2.
Torino are not only looking for their first Serie A win against Inter since early 2019, but also looking to break their previous winless streak in 18 away matches at San Siro, including the matches against Milan.
Torino have clearly declined at the end of last season, winning only 1/9 of their final matches and losing a place in the top half of the rankings. With Como's advantage, the 0-2 defeat to Roma ended Paolo Vanoli's reign, giving Marco Baroni the opportunity to take over the coaching bench.
The team has a notable rookie Giovanni Simeone, who will compete for a starting position with Che Adams. However, they have lost a few key players, including midfielder Samuele Ricci moving to Milan.
After two consecutive losses at the end of last season, Baroni's army started the 2025-2026 campaign with a victory in Coppa Italia last week. Nikola Vlasic scored the only goal against Modena. This victory helped Torino advance to the second round against Pisa at the end of September.
However, before thinking about the domestic cup, Torino had to face a challenging start in Serie A. They had to face Inter, Fiorentina, Roma and Atalanta in a row.
Personnel situation
In addition to Inzaghi's departure, Inter have retained most of their key players in the summer. Therefore, their familiar squad will continue to play, although Hakan Calhanoglu is out due to suspension.
New signing Luiz Henrique, striker Ange-Yoan Bonny - Chivu's former student at Parma - and midfielder duo Andy Diouf and Petar Sucic will bring a new breeze to the Nerazzurri team that has shown signs of aging.
In the back line, Yann Sommer still holds the goal, above him is an experienced back trio. Up front, captain Lautaro Martinez stood alongside Marcus Thuram - the striker who scored 4 goals against Torino, including the first hat-trick of his career. Thuram was also Inter's number one scorer last season.
On the opposite side, Torino put their faith in Adams, who ended his first Serie A season with 9 goals. The return of Duvan Zapata and rookie Giovanni Simeone will give Baroni more attacking options.
Torino are still missing centre-back Perr Schuurs due to a long-term injury, while new signing Ardian Ismajli is sidelined with a thigh injury. However, Baroni can rely on new faces such as Tino Anjorin, Zakariaaboukhlal and Cyril Ngonge.
In the goalkeeper position, Franco Israel was given the opportunity to start after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic joined Napoli.
Expected lineup:
Inter Milan: Sommer, Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Barella, Sucic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Thuram, Martinez
Torino: Israel, Pedersen, Coco, Maripan, Biraghi, Anjorin, Casadei, Ngonge, Vlasic, aboukhlal, Adams.
The match between Inter Milan and Torino takes place at 1:45 am on August 26 (Vietnam time).
