2023–24 Inter Milan Season

The 2023–24 season was the 116th season in the existence of Inter Milan, which have all been played in the top division of Italian football. In addition to the domestic league, Inter participated in this season's editions of the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Champions League.

This season was the first since 2011–12 without Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanović, who announced his departure following the end of his contract, the first since 2013–14 without centre-back Danilo D'Ambrosio who departed the ''Nerazzurri'' club to join Monza, and the first since 2014–15 without Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozović, who also left after being transferred to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

On 20 December, Coppa Italia defending champions suffered a 1–2 loss after extra time against Bologna in the round of 16, getting knocked out of the competition. On 22 January, the ''Nerazzurri'' clinched their third consecutive Supercoppa Italiana by defeating Lazio 3–0 in the semi-finals and Napoli 1–0 in the final. After reaching the final in the 2022–23 edition, Inter's Champions League campaign was cut short on 13 March by getting knocked out at the round of 16 stage by Atlético Madrid. After drawing on aggregate 2–2, the ''Colchoneros'' went on to win the deciding penalty shoot-out 3–2. On 22 April, with five games to spare, Inter were mathematically confirmed as Serie A champions for the twentieth time in their history after defeating second-placed and city rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, earning the second star above their badge.

Kits

Supplier: Nike / Front sponsor: Paramount+ / Back sponsor: U-Power / Sleeve sponsor: eBay
;Outfield players kits

;Goalkeeper kits

Season summary

Pre-season

In the aftermath of the 2022–23 season, Inter was forced to undergo an extensive squad makeover, as Samir Handanović, Alex Cordaz, Milan Škriniar, Dalbert, Stefan de Vrij, Danilo D'Ambrosio, Roberto Gagliardini and Edin Džeko had their contracts set to expire, alongside Romelu Lukaku, Francesco Acerbi and Raoul Bellanova having their loan spells coming to an end. On 1 July, Inter announced their first signing of the season, French striker Marcus Thuram from Borussia Mönchengladbach, who agreed to a five-year contract with the ''Nerazzurri''. On 3 July, Croatian playmaker Marcelo Brozović joined Saudi club Al Nassr for a reported fee of €18 million, leaving Inter after eight and a half seasons. On 5 July, both Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Çalhanoğlu renewed their contracts, respectively until 2028 and 2027. On 6 July, Inter signed midfielder Davide Frattesi from Sassuolo on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy, for a reported total fee of €33 million. On 7 July, Inter activated the option to make Acerbi transfer from Lazio permanent. A day later, Inter also confirmed that De Vrij extended his contract with the club until 2025. On 12 July, Inter triggered the €7 million release clause to sign promising German centre-back Yann Aurel Bisseck from Danish club AGF, who agreed to a five-year deal. On 13 July, Inter officialised the return of former youth academy goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro. On 19 July, Colombian right-midfielder Juan Cuadrado joined Inter as a free agent in a rather controversial move, after his contract with bitter rivals Juventus expired. On 20 July, after weeks of speculations, goalkeeper André Onana joined Manchester United for a reported fee of €52.5 million, agreeing to a five-year contract with the English side and leaving Inter after only one season. On 26 July, Lautaro Martínez was officially appointed as the new club captain after the departures of former skipper Handanović and club veterans D'Ambrosio, Brozović and Škriniar. On 7 August, Inter signed Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich for a reported €6.75 million fee, penning a three-year contract with the club. Three days later, Inter completed their goalkeeper roster by signing Emil Audero from Sampdoria on a season-long loan. On 15 August, Robin Gosens joined Union Berlin on a permanent transfer for a reported fee of €15 million. On the same day, Inter filled the now-vacant left wing-back spot by signing Carlos Augusto from Monza on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy for a reported total fee of €12 million plus bonuses. On 16 August, Austrian striker Marko Arnautović made his return to Inter after 13 years, joining from Bologna on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy for a reported fee of €8 million.

August

On 19 August, Inter started their Serie A campaign with a 2–0 home victory against Monza, thanks to a brace from Lautaro. On 25 August, Joaquín Correa joined French side Marseille on a season-long loan with an option and a conditional obligation to buy. The next day, Alexis Sánchez returned to Inter, joining as a free agent following his season-long experience at Marseille. On 28 August, Inter grabbed his second win by beating Cagliari 2–0 with the goals from Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro. On 30 August, after weeks of negotiations, Inter completed the signing of French defender Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich for a reported fee of €30 million, signing a five-year contract.

September

On the deadline day of the summer transfer window, Inter signed Dutch midfielder Davy Klaassen from Ajax on a free transfer. On 3 September, Inter convincingly defeated Fiorentina 4–0 thanks to the debut goal of Thuram, a brace from Lautaro and a penalty kick transformed by Çalhanoğlu. On 5 September, head coach Simone Inzaghi extended his contract with the ''Nerazzurri'' until 2025. On 16 September, the Derby della Madonnina took place, with both Inter and Milan undefeated and joint top of the table. In a dominating display, Inter beat their city rivals 5–1 thanks to a brace from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a goal from Thuram, a penalty transformed by Çalhanoğlu, and the debut goal of Frattesi, with Rafael Leão scoring the only goal for the ''Rossoneri''. On 20 September, Inter struggled away from home against Real Sociedad in their seasonal Champions League debut, with the Spanish side taking the lead early in the game thanks to Brais Méndez, and Lautaro scoring a late equaliser to earn the ''Nerazzurri'' a 1–1 draw. Four days later, Inter continued their domestic league winning streak by defeating Empoli 1–0, thanks to a half-volley goal from outside the box by Federico Dimarco. On 27 September, Inter suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 1–2 against Sassuolo, with the team's only goal coming from Dumfries. Three days later, the ''Nerazzurri'' returned to their winning ways by defeating Salernitana 4–0, with Lautaro scoring all four goals after being subbed on in the 55th minute.

October

On 3 October, Inter faced Benfica in the second match of the Champions League, defeating the Portuguese team 1–0 with a goal from Thuram. Four days later, Inter drew 2–2 against Bologna, blowing the 2–0 lead obtained with the goals from Acerbi and Lautaro. On 21 October, goals from Lautaro, Thuram, and a stoppage-time penalty kick scored by Çalhanoğlu granted Inter a 3–0 win against Torino. Three days later, Inter won 2–1 against Red Bull Salzburg in the third match of the Champions League, thanks to the goals from Sánchez and Çalhanoğlu. On 29 October, Inter defeated Roma 1–0, with Thuram breaking the deadlock in the 81st minute.

November

Inter started the month of November by obtaining a 2–1 win against Atalanta, with goals from Çalhanoğlu and Lautaro. On 8 November, Inter managed to beat Salzburg away from home 1–0 courtesy of a late penalty kick scored by Lautaro, and advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare. On 12 November, Inter defeated Frosinone 2–0, thanks to a 56 metres lob goal from Dimarco and a penalty kick scored by Çalhanoğlu. On 26 November, Inter secured a 1–1 away draw in the Derby d'Italia against Juventus to maintain the top spot of the league, with Lautaro scoring the equaliser after a Dušan Vlahović goal. Three days later, the away match against Benfica in the Champions League ended 3–3, with the heavily rotated ''Nerazzurri'' side coming back in the second half with the goals from Arnautović, Frattesi, and Sánchez, after João Mário scored a first-half hat-trick against his former club.

December

On 3 December, Inter started the new month by defeating reigning Serie A champions Napoli 3–0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Nicolò Barella and Marcus Thurman. On 9 December, the ''Nerazzurri'' comfortably won against Udinese 4–0, thanks to the goals from Çalhanoğlu, Dimarco, Thuram and Lautaro. Three days later, the last match of the Champions League group stage against Real Sociedad ended in a goalless draw, with the Basque side qualifying for the round of 16 as group winners thanks to the better goal difference and Inter finishing second place. On 17 December, Inter defeated Lazio 2–0 away from home, courtesy of the goals from Lautaro and Thuram. On the same day it was officially announced that Inter was qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup due to their 4-year UEFA ranking. On 20 December, a headed goal from Carlos Augusto in the extra-time was not enough to defeat Bologna in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia and Inter were beaten by a scoreline of 1–2, knocking them out of the competition. On 23 December, Bisseck's debut goal and a strike from Barella gave the ''Nerazzurri'' a 2–0 home victory over Lecce. On 29 December, Inzaghi's team drew 1–1 against Genoa away from home in their last match of the year, with the only goal for Inter coming from Marko Arnautović. On 30 December, the club announced the contract extension for three players: Federico Dimarco until 2027, Matteo Darmian until 2025, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan until 2026.

January

On 5 January, following Juan Cuadrado's Achilles tendon surgery, Inter signed Canadian wing-back Tajon Buchanan from Club Brugge as his replacement for a fee of €8.5 million plus bonuses. The following day Inter beat Verona 2–1 in the first match of the year thanks to the goals from Lautaro and Frattesi, ending the first half of the season as league leaders. On 13 January, Inzaghi's side won 5–1 against Monza away from home, thanks to the braces from Çalhanoğlu and Lautaro, and a goal from Thuram. After the game against Monza, Inter flew to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to play the Supercoppa Italiana. As a result, the match against Atalanta originally scheduled for 21 January was postponed, and Juventus surpassed the ''Nerazzurri'' as league leaders by defeating Lecce on 22 January and having a game in hand. On 19 January, Inter defeated Lazio 3–0 in the semi-finals of the Supercoppa Italiana with the goals from Thuram, Çalhanoğlu, and Frattesi. Three days later the ''Nerazzurri'' beat Napoli 1–0 in the final thanks to an injury time strike from Lautaro Martínez, winning their eighth Supercoppa title, the third in a row. On 28 January, a header from Lautaro secured Inter a 1–0 victory over Fiorentina in the last match of the month, and allowed the team to regain the top spot of the league, after Juventus drew against Empoli.

February

On 4 February, the second Derby d'Italia of the season was decided by an own goal from Federico Gatti, granting Inter a 1–0 victory at San Siro and increasing the point gap between the two teams. On 10 February, Inter obtained a 4–2 comeback win against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico with goals from Acerbi, Thuram and Bastoni, as well as an own goal from Angeliño. On 16 February, goals from Thuram, Lautaro, Dumfries and Arnautović granted Inter a comfortable 4–0 home victory over Salernitana. Four days later, Inzaghi's side obtained a tight 1–0 win in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Atlético Madrid, with Marko Arnautović claiming the winning goal. On 25 February, a brace from Lautaro and the goals from Frattesi and De Vrij gave Inter a 4–0 win against Lecce. Three days later, Inter defeated Atalanta 4–0 in the last match of the month, thanks to the goals from Darmian, Lautaro, Dimarco and Frattesi. This extended the gap between Inter Milan and 2nd placed Juventus by 12 points.

March

On 4 March, Kristjan Asllani's first goal with the ''Nerazzurri'' shirt and a penalty kick scored by Alexis Sánchez granted Inter a narrow 2–1 win against Genoa, widening the gap between Inzaghi's side and Juventus by 15 points. Five days later, Inter won their tenth consecutive league game by beating Bologna 1–0 through a Yann Bisseck header. On 13 March, Inter's campaign in the UEFA Champions League came to an end in the round of 16, after going out on penalties to Atlético Madrid. Inter initially took the lead with a Federico Dimarco goal, but the ''Colchoneros'' came back with strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay, setting the aggregate score to 2–2, before eliminating the ''Nerazzurri'' in the penalty shoot-out. This was Inter's first defeat in 2024, interrupting a 13-match winning streak in all competitions. On 17 March, Inter drew 1–1 against Napoli in Serie A, with the only goal for the Black and Blues coming from Darmian.

April

On the first match of the month against Empoli on 1 April, Inter returned to their winning ways by defeating the Tuscanian team 2–0, thanks to the goals from Federico Dimarco and Alexis Sánchez. On the same day, also as a result of the goalless draw between Lecce and Roma, Inter was the first Italian team to qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League. On 8 April, a penalty kick from Çalhanoğlu and an injury time goal from Frattesi granted Inter a 2–1 comeback win against Udinese. On 14 April, goals from Thuram and Çalhanoğlu were not enough to beat Cagliari at San Siro, with the game ending in a 2–2 draw. On 22 April, Inter beat Milan 2–1 in the second Derby della Madonnina of the season thanks to the goals from Acerbi and Thuram, mathematically securing their historic 20th ''scudetto'' and second star with five games to spare. Six days later, a brace from Çalhanoğlu gave Inter a 2–0 win against Torino in the last match of April.

May

Inter started May by suffering their second league loss of the season, losing 0–1 against relegation-battling Sassuolo, with the ''Neroverdi'' defeating the newly crowned champions again after doing so in the first half of the campaign and ending their 28-game unbeaten run in Serie A. On 10 May, Inter returned to winning ways by defeating Frosinone 5–0 with the goals from Frattesi, Arnautović, Buchanan (his debut goal with the ''Nerazzurri'' shirt), Lautaro and Thuram. On 19 May, Inter drew 1–1 against Lazio in the last home game of the season, with Dumfries scoring the late equaliser. On 26 May, Inter drew 2–2 against Verona in the last match of the season, with Marko Arnautović scoring a brace for the ''Nerazzurri''. At the end of the season Lautaro Martínez finished as league's top scorer with 24 goals, and was named Serie A MVP of the season. Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Çalhanoğlu won the best Serie A defender and midfielder awards of the season respectively, and Simone Inzaghi was named the best coach of the league for 2023–24.

Players

First-team squad

Youth academy players

Inter Primavera players that received a first-team squad call-up.

Transfers

In

Transfers

On loan

Loan returns

Out

Transfers

Loans out

Loans ended

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Overview

Serie A

League table

Results summary

Results by round

¹ Matchday 21 (vs Atalanta) was postponed to 28 February 2024 due to Inter's participation in the 2023 Supercoppa Italiana.

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 5 July 2023.

Coppa Italia

Supercoppa Italiana

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2023.

Knockout phase

= Round of 16

=
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 18 December 2023.

Statistics

Appearances and goals

, -
! colspan=14 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Goalkeepers

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! colspan=14 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Defenders

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! colspan=14 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Midfielders

, -
! colspan=14 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Forwards

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! colspan=14 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Players transferred out during the season

Goalscorers

Assists

Hat-tricks

⁴ – Player scored four goals.

Clean sheets

Disciplinary record

Awards

Monthly awards

; Serie A Coach of the Month

; Serie A Player of the Month

; Serie A Goal of the Month

;LeoVegas.News Player of the Month
Awarded by an online supporters vote on LeoVegas.News' Instagram profile.

;Goal of the Month sponsored by Pirelli
Awarded by an online supporters vote on Inter's Instagram profile.

Seasonal awards

;Serie A Awards

;Gran Galà del Calcio
*Individual awards

*Serie A Team of the Year

; Serie A top scorer

;Enzo Bearzot Award

; Premio Bulgarelli Number 8

;U-Power Goal of the Season
Awarded by an online supporters vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 Inter Milan Season
Inter Milan seasons
Inter Milan
Inter Milan
Italian football championship–winning seasons