When Antonio Conte left Inter Milan last summer it felt as though their return to the summit of Italian football was going to be short-lived.
Their inspirational manager had left, talisman Romelu Lukaku was sold to Chelsea and Achraf Hakimi was moved on to PSG as the club's Chinese owners struggled to re-coup every penny they could.
Just months after winning their first Serie A title since 2010, Inter's chances of retaining it appeared to be very slim.
But a slightly refined version of Conte's Inter system has risen from the ashes of his departure and once again the Nerazzurri are proving to be the strongest force in Italian football.