The system
With only one previous game - a friendly win over Celtic - and less than two weeks of training under his belt, the Dutchman opted for a 3-4-1-2 formation for the trip to Verona.
The new system was an experiment and it proved to be a dangerous and costly one, against a Chievo outfit whose way of playing has been well-defined for many years now.
At Ajax, de Boer flipped between 4-3-3 (his preferred formation) and 4-3-1-2 so his decision to pick a system which was unknown to him and his players was a surprising one and judging by the result, the wrong one.
Fitness
Inter lost three teams in pre-season with Roberto Mancini in the dugout and even in those games, the condition of the team looked to be a serious problem.
De Boer has inherited a team who aren't at peak physical condition and he highlighted as much after the game, as did a frustrated Samir Handanovic.
It is something that will have to be rectified quickly, even if Inter can take slight solace from the fact that they enjoyed a greater share of both possession and territorial advantage.
Wing-backs or full-backs?
Having Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic (when he replaced the Italian) out wide and asking them to run constantly in both attack and defence was a puzzling move from de Boer.
Maybe he would have been better served to use players in those roles who aren't as technically skilled but who are more suited to the labouring role that was asked of the attack-minded duo.
De Boer justified his use of the three-man defence by saying it was the best option available to him with an unfit, injury-hit squad so he may have already noted himself that it was a gamble which didn't pay off, given that Candreva wasn't entrusted with the same kind of aggressive role in a similar system that he enjoyed under Antonio Conte with Italy.
Banega's confusion
Ever never quite got to grips with the game whatsoever, a disappointment on the opening night considering much is expected of him this season.
He roamed the field listlessly for 70 minutes, touching the ball 71 minutes, without ever really offering anything decisive and some of that was down to the attitude of the team, while some was down to him not being able to find the right position.
Whether he moved between the lines or dropped deep enough to collect the ball under less pressure, he couldn't find his rhythm. In Seville, he had grown accustomed to a 4-2-3-1 formation with constantly overlapping full-backs but against Chievo, he came unstuck in a packed midfield.
Defenceless
Even during the early part of last season when the Nerazzurri picked up their series of 1-0 wins, the impression from Inter was that their defence had errors in it, which proved to be the case.
Twelve months on against Chievo, defensive issues raised their head again. Andrea Ranocchia could arguably count himself lucky not to be sent off and both he and Danilo D'Ambrosio were culpable on Valter Birsa's goal.
Although Chievo didn't consistently cause them problems, any time they attacked at pace Inter looked uncomfortable, with even Miranda looking surprisingly shaky.The post Five reasons why Inter flopped against Chievo appeared first on GazzettaWorld.