According to the sports daily "Milan Sports", it is not impossible that Leonardo favored Motta, but Cambiasso was definitely not suitable for being placed on the wing. However, if Inter Milan wanted to continue using both Motta and Cambiasso, then they would have to switch to a 4231 formation. With Motta and Cambiasso forming the double pivot, Pandev occupying one side, Sneijder playing as the attacking midfielder, and Pazzini leading the line alone, this would force Eto'o to return to the left flank. However, from the match against Juventus, it could be seen that Eto'o's movement already resembled that of a left winger. The "Milan Sports" pointed out that no matter what formation was used, Inter Milan needed to make adjustments in midfield. After all, they still had to face strong opponents like Bayern Munich, and Leonardo couldn't afford to let the opponent exploit the same mistake twice, otherwise he would suffer greatly.
The match against Juventus dealt a heavy blow to Inter Milan because after losing this game, their chances of reversing the situation and winning the championship significantly diminished. More importantly, for the Brazilian coach Leonardo who had been sailing smoothly since taking over, this game's loss was far more alarming than the defeat against Udinese. In the Olympic Stadium of Turin, the entire Inter Milan team seemed to have lost their souls, making constant mistakes, and the frenzied attacks displayed in the previous few games were completely suppressed by the opponent. Among these players, the performance of Cambiasso was most regrettable. As the central hub of the team's midfield transition, the Argentine player performed abnormally in this game and was substituted off early.
It had to be admitted that Cambiasso's abnormal performance was related to his physical condition, as he had a slight injury recently, and the team's continuous schedule of two games a week also caused problems with his stamina. However, according to the "Milan Sports", the fundamental change was still the position. Fans familiar with Inter Milan knew that when the team played with three midfielders, Cambiasso's position was always in the center, which is commonly known as the defensive midfield position. However, in the match against Juventus, Cambiasso appeared on the left flank, while Motta took his position. Compared to the defensive midfielder role, Cambiasso had to participate more in the offense when on the left flank, but in fact, the Argentine did not perform well in this position, instead committing more passing errors. Of course, Motta standing in the defensive midfielder position didn't perform well either.
The "Milan Sports" stated that such tactical changes by Leonardo had a significant impact on Inter Milan's midfield. Before the match against Juventus, Leonardo emphasized that whether the midfield could gain an advantage would be the key focus of this game, but in the end, the midfield trio of Haljas, Motta, and Cambiasso was completely outplayed by Melo, Marchisio, Krasic, and Aquilani. Leonardo let Motta play as the defensive midfielder mainly to strengthen the midfield's offensive organization through passing and organizing. However, Motta still had a certain gap compared to Cambiasso in defense. In the match against Juventus, Motta was repeatedly beaten by the opponent in defense.
Based on Inter Milan's personnel configuration, Leonardo abandoned his favorite 433 formation and switched to a 4312 formation. When mentioning the 4312 tactic, one cannot help but mention Allegri. At the beginning, Allegri liked to use technically skilled players like Pirlo as the defensive midfielder at Milan, but later, he found that sturdy players like Ambrosini were more suitable for the center in a three-man midfield. And indeed, Ambrosini standing in the center brought balance to AC Milan's offense and defense. In fact, Cambiasso was of the same type as Ambrosini, while Motta was somewhat similar in style to Pirlo. Therefore, Leonardo following Allegri's old path was bound to fail. And if timely adjustments were not made, perhaps more severe lessons awaited the Brazilian coach.