Salernitana v Inter stat pack

Team

— Dec 17th 2021

4 MIN READING

Facts and figures ahead of Friday's 20:45 kick-off at the Stadio Arechi

MILAN – Inter go into their last away game of 2021 against Salernitana (20:45 CET on Friday 17 December) sitting pretty at the top of the Serie A pile after collecting 40 points from their first 17 games.

Stefano Colantuono's side meanwhile are rooted to the foot of the table on eight points, from two wins, two draws and 13 defeats.

GENERAL STATS

Inter have scored 98 goals in 2021 and need just one more to equal their record of 99 in a calendar year (1950).

Only three teams have managed a century of Serie A goals in a calendar year: AC Milan (105 in 1949 and 120 in 1950), Torino (111 in 1947 and 114 in 1948) and Juventus (100 in 1933). Atalanta have scored 99 so far in 2021.

Inter have had the most touches (510) inside the opposition area of any team in Serie A this term, as well as the most shots from inside the area (198) and scored the most goals (37 – seven more than the team with the second most.

Friday's fixture is a match-up between the league's best and worst attacks. Salernitana have mustered just 11 goals so far – one more than Lautaro Martinez (10). The Nerazzurri have netted 43 in total.

Inter have scored 11 headed goals this season, more than any other side and two shy of Fiorentina's record in the first half of a season (13 in 2005/06) since Serie A returned to 20 teams in 2004/05.

No team has scored more goals than Inter from moves involving at least ten passes: the Nerazzurri and AC Milan have both scored seven.

Inter and Napoli have conceded the fewest goals from open play (eight) in 2021/22 while Salernitanta have let in the most (32).

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

There have been four previous meetings between Salernitana and Inter in Serie A, with the home side always emerging victorious.

Simone Inzaghi's side have won both games against newly promoted teams in the current campaign (both 2-0).

This is only the third time in the history of Serie A that a Week 18 fixture has seen two sides facing off with at least 30 points between them in the standings. The previous instances were AC Milan 5-0 Ancona (January 2004) and Crotone 0-2 Juventus (February 2017).

Inter have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 trips to teams from Campania, winning three, drawing four and losing six times in that spell.

FORM BOOK

Inter have won their last four Serie A games with an aggregate score of 11-0. Only two times in history have the Nerazzurri won five back-to-back matches without conceding: in 1989 and in 1996.

The Nerazzurri have scored at least two goals in 19 of their last 22 Serie A outings – and at least three in ten of those. Inzaghi's men have kept six clean sheets in their last eight league fixtures – at least two more than any other Serie A team in that period.

Salernitana have failed to score in their last three homes games in Serie A – their longest run without scoring on home turf in the top flight. The last team to have done worse was Parma (eight games with no goals last February).

Salernitana have earned four points with Stefano Colantuono in charge (W1, D1, L7), the same number they managed at the start of the campaign under Fabrizio Castori with a game less (W1, D1, L6).

PLAYERS

Alexis Sanchez's goal against Cagliari means Inter have now had 15 different names on the score sheet in Serie A this term – more than anyone else. The Chilean's next appearance will be his 400th in the top five European leagues.

Lautaro Martinez is the seventh youngest player in Inter history to hit double figures in three different Serie A campaigns, after Giuseppe Meazza, Benito Lorenzi, Antonio Angelillo, Sandro Mazzola, Alessandro Altobelli and Mauro Icardi.

Nicolo Barella is the league's top provider of assists, with seven so far. The only Nerazzurri player to have done better in the first half of a Serie A season since the return to a 20-team league (in 2004/05) is Antonio Candreva, with eight in 2017/18.

Matteo Darmian's next appearance will be his 250th in the top five European leagues.

Edin Dzeko has scored 25% of his Serie A goals (23 of 93) against newly promoted sides, but none in his last five games against top-flight newcomers.