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Simone Inzaghi's Inter made a statement with a 2-0 win against Lazio in Rome and the Nerazzurri are now well positioned in the Serie A title race. They increased the gap with Juventus after Massimiliano Allegri's team drew 1-1 in Genoa on Friday and are now four points behind the Serie A leaders. Inter's win against Lazio reminded us once again that the Nerazzurri are one of the best sides around and only few teams in Europe are better equipped to win the UEFA Champions League. 

On Monday, Inter will know who will face in February in the UCL's round of 16 but all eyes will be on the Nerazzurri that last season only lost to Manchester City in the final in Istanbul. Since Inzaghi took charge of the club in the summer 2021, Inter started a process of constant growth despite multiple changes in the roster. The Italian coach was able to live with that and the team improved season after season in the two and a half years under the former Lazio manager. 

In his first year in charge, Inter lost the Serie A title to AC Milan, while the season after the Nerazzurri ended up third but lost to Manchester City the Champions League final, but at the same time won two Supercoppa Italianas and two Coppa Italias in the past two years. This season the declared target is the Scudetto, and it looks like Inter players are much more focused compared to the past season, when Inter had some ups and downs especially against smaller teams. 

During the 2022-23 Serie A season, Inter lost 12 games (almost one third of the matches) and this season it looks like they learned from their mistakes and only lost once so far against Sassuolo back in September. Despite both Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku leaving the club in the summer, Inter's attacking numbers improved especially thanks to the unexpected impact of Marcus Thuram, who perfectly combine his way of playing with the one of Lautaro Martinez. Thuram joined Inter in the summer and only few could imagine his impact as a central striker, considering he used to play as an attacking winger when he was at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Up to now, Thuram scored eight goals and provided 10 assists to his teammates, while Lautaro already scored 17 goals in all competitions, creating one of the best duos around Europe. 

Considering all these facts, and also for the way Inter play, it's fair to consider the Nerazzurri again as one of the strongest candidates to win the Champions League as well, despite the Italian side mainly focusing on the league this season. There are probably three or four teams with more chances to win the tournament than Inter, not a lot considering where Inter were a few years ago, as before Inzaghi was appointed the Nerazzurri failed to go through the group stage with both Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte as managers. 

Inter's development is under the eyes of all of us, and it's a process that started around five years ago especially since former Juventus director Beppe Marotta was appointed by the club to start a new winning cycle, formed with young talents and experienced players at the same time. On top of that, Inter improved this season defensively, as the Nerazzurri only conceded seven goals in 16 Serie A games so far. The history of the Italian league tell us that who concedes less have more chances to win the title -- another signal that Inter are in the best position to win the league and contend for more.