After 9 rounds of the league, Inter Milan conceded only 4 goals, with an average goal concession rate of 0.44 goals per game. This is the lowest in Serie A. In a horizontal comparison across all major European leagues including the Premier League, La Liga, and Bundesliga, only Chelsea (conceding 3 goals in 10 Premier League games) has a lower league goal concession rate than Inter Milan. The defenses of Real Madrid (conceding 5 goals in 9 games) and Barcelona (conceding 6 goals in 9 games) are also performing well, but Inter Milan's defense undoubtedly stands out more.
Indeed, since the start of this season, players like Julio Cesar and Maicon have had inconsistent performances, Chivu has been in a slump, and Lucio has been plagued by minor injuries, making many mistakes. However, as long as there is a steady and reliable Samuel behind them, Inter Milan's defense need not worry too much. According to Opta data, Samuel averages 3.2 tackles and 9 clearances per game, which is quite impressive. In the last match, Samuel completed 5 successful tackles, 4 interceptions of passes, and 11 clearances within the penalty area, with a tackle success rate of 100%. This was also one of the key reasons why Inter Milan, who performed mediocrely overall, managed to win 1-0 against strong opponent Genoa. The "Milan Sports Daily" wrote emotionally: "As long as that Samuel is still there at the back, Inter Milan need not fear anything!"
Regrettably, due to Samuel's low profile, he often fails to receive sufficient recognition. Even after winning the treble, and even though insiders consider Samuel to be Inter Milan's most invaluable treasure, his situation hasn't been ideal. During the World Cup, he was excluded from the starting lineup by Maradona, and Argentina preferred to use some less capable defenders. Moreover, Samuel wasn't even included in the Ballon d'Or candidate list. Italian media criticized the creators of the Ballon d'Or list: Do the people selecting this list really understand football?
In the eyes of Italian media, whether Samuel is the most reliable center-back in the world might still be debatable. But it is undeniable that he is among the top five. Currently, excellent defenders are scarce in football, and although Samuel doesn't get much hype from the media, how can he be overlooked?
From this, we can see that since 1993, over the span of 17 years, no Inter Milan team has ever been as rock-solid as the current one. After all, Inter Milan's first 9 opponents were not easy, facing tough teams like Juventus, Roma, Sampdoria, Genoa, Palermo, etc., or even their nemeses. Achieving such defensive statistics is quite rare. These statistics also show that while Benitez, upon arriving at Inter Milan, still has issues adjusting the offense and set-piece tactics, the defense is indeed well-managed. Facts prove that teams with good defenses rarely perform poorly.
After 9 rounds of the league, despite Inter Milan barely overtaking AC Milan, a series of data remains embarrassing. Scoring only 11 goals in 9 matches, averaging 1.2 goals per game, is the lowest-scoring Inter Milan in 15 years. This naturally raises the question: Why can the lowest-scoring Inter Milan in 15 years still rank second in the standings? The answer lies in the fact that Inter Milan's defense is the strongest in 17 years!
Of course, based on these defensive statistics, people have reason to reassess who is truly the "dominant force" within Inter Milan. The "Milan Sports Daily" pointed out: "Inter Milan has a Samuel up front (Eto'o's full name is Samuel Eto'o) and a Samuel at the back. The one upfront cannot solve the team's offensive problems (even though Eto'o himself performs excellently, the reality is that Inter Milan's attack has never been so weak in 15 years), but the Samuel at the back gives us great peace of mind."
If we compare historically, it is evident that Inter Milan conceding only 4 goals in 9 rounds is historically the best-defended Nerazzurri team. Even during last season's treble-winning era, Inter Milan conceded 6 goals in the first 9 rounds. Defensive data from other seasons are as follows: 08-09 season, 5 goals conceded in 9 rounds; 07-08 season, 5 goals in 9 rounds; 06-07 season, 12 goals in 9 rounds; 05-06 season, 8 goals in 9 rounds; 04-05 season, 14 goals in 9 rounds; 03-04 season, 5 goals in 9 rounds; 02-03 season, 9 goals in 9 rounds; 01-02 season, 9 goals in 9 rounds; 2000-01 season, 12 goals in 9 rounds; 1999-2000 season, 9 goals in 9 rounds; 98-99 season, 14 goals in 9 rounds; 97-98 season, 10 goals in 9 rounds; 96-97 season, 7 goals in 9 rounds; 95-96 season, 6 goals in 9 rounds; 94-95 season, 6 goals in 9 rounds; 93-94 season, 4 goals in 9 rounds.