Mauro Icardi was inevitably Man of the Match, but who else stood out for Football Italia in the 2-0 win over Atalanta?
Words: Greg Murray – @Muzza__G
Samir Handanovic – 6
The Inter ‘keeper had very little to do on the night, but rose to the occasion whenever he was called upon. An impressive instinct save on a close range shot from Hans Hateboer prevented his side from going behind in the first half.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 8
Mauro Icardi was inevitably Man of the Match, but who else stood out for Football Italia in the 2-0 win over Atalanta?
Words: Greg Murray – @Muzza__G
Samir Handanovic – 6
The Inter ‘keeper had very little to do on the night, but rose to the occasion whenever he was called upon. An impressive instinct save on a close range shot from Hans Hateboer prevented his side from going behind in the first half.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 8
The full back’s best performance this season, D’Ambrosio showed his intent in the first minute, intercepting the ball and starting a counter-attack. The former Torino man kept this up throughout, winning the free kick for his side’s first goal, before turning provider for the second.
Milan Skriniar – 7
Inter’s signing of the season helped earn his side a clean sheet, although struggled at times against Papu Gomez. The Slovak’s ability to contain Atalanta’s Number 10 greatly benefited from referee Michael Fabbri’s leniency, and he could easily have given away a penalty in the 70th minute. The centre-back found the more traditional challenge of Andrea Petagna a much simpler task, and looked far more comfortable in the second half.
Joao Miranda – 7
The veteran centre-back showed his experience throughout, and won pretty much every duel he faced. Miranda completely negated the threat of Josip Ilicic and brought the ball out of defence well.
Davide Santon – 5
The Inter youth product struggled on his first Serie A start of the season, both in his link-up play with Perisic and his final ball. Given that both Yuto Nagatomo and Dalbert were on the bench, Santon’s inclusion was an interesting decision.
Matias Vecino – 6
An uncharacteristically shaky game from the Uruguayan saw Vecino give possession away a number of times in the first half, and was lucky that his teammates were switched on in defence.
Roberto Gagliardini – 6
The midfielder is starting to repay the faith that his Coach is placing in him, and has started to develop a link with Icardi. As Gagliardini’s confidence increases, so does his willingness to attempt creative passes to the forwards. Against his former side, the Italian showed glimpses of why he was so effective for La Dea, and why Inter shelled out over €20m for his services.
Antonio Candreva – 7
After Candreva’s heartbreak with the national side last week, Luciano Spalletti may have been tempted to give his ever-present winger a rest. However, the decision not to certainly paid off, as it was the former Lazio man’s free-kick that earned his side their first goal. Candreva’s crossing ability has been under major scrutiny this season, but against Atalanta he gave his critics little to feed off. In addition to the goal, the Italian caused havoc in the box with his crosses, one of which, in the 39th minute, could have earned his team a penalty.
Borja Valero – 6
The Spaniard was marked pretty much throughout the game by Maarten De Roon, which greatly limited his influence on proceedings. As always, the former Fiorentina favourite gave it his all in the centre of the park, and nearly set up Icardi with a neat flick in the first half.
Ivan Perisic – 6
Despite a quiet night for Inter’s second top scorer, he provided his worth by tracking back and limiting Atalanta’s attacking threat down the left flank. Having spent the first half of the season playing in front of Nagatomo, he seemed a tad discouraged by Santon’s presence on the wing.
Mauro Icardi – 9
Inter’s captain barely had a touch of the ball in the first half, and uncharacteristically missed a one-on-one with Etrit Berisha. This did nothing to discourage Icardi, who headed in his second, and then his third chance past the Atalanta ‘keeper. The Argentine’s movement and vision saw him lose his markers on both occasions, and is distinguishing him as one of the best forwards in Europe at the moment.
Subs
Marcelo Brozovic – 5
Despite starting both qualifiers for Croatia, Brozovic looked rusty when he came on for the final 20 minutes. A predominantly offensive player, the midfielder was unable to put his talents to use, as Inter were weathering an Atalanta onslaught towards the end.
Joao Mario – N/A
Eder – N/A