The Marc’Antonio Bentegodi Stadium in Verona hosted the second fixture of the second round of Serie A, as Hellas took on the defending champions Inter. The hosts took an early lead through Ivan Iliic who capitalized on a howler from Samir Handanovic.
Nonetheless, Lautaro Martinez brought the visitors back on level terms with a swift second half goal, and his compatriot Joaquin Correa sealed the win with a dream off-the-bench debut. The former Lazio man struck twice, as the champions won their encounter in a 3-1 result. So here are the player ratings for the exciting match between Verona and Inter.
Verona XI
Lorenzo Montipò – 5.5
Although he made a couple of decent saves on Martinez and Bastoni, the former Benevento man wasn’t up to the task today. He was lucky to be bailed out by the referee for a foul on Lautaro when he couldn’t catch the ball, and should have done better on the Argentine’s goal.
Giangiacomo Magnani – 6
A decent performance from the defender who did his best to limit Lautaro’s danger, but he struggled at times when facing the physicality of Dzeko.
Koray Gunter – 6.5
A solid performance from the German, who kept Dzeko at bay for the majority of the match and was the best of the defensive bunch.
Federico Ceccherini – 6
The former Fiorentina man did mostly well despite some shaky moments, but had to leave the pitch with a knock early in the second half.
Davide Faraoni – 6
The Verona captain was up against his former club, and even though he didn’t add much on the attacking phase, he nullified Perisic’s threat as Inter rarely created chances from their left flank.
Martin Hongla – 5
A night to forget for the Cameroonian midfielder. Assisted his opponents’ opening goal by mistake, and was lucky that the referee didn’t blow his whistle for his challenge on Martinez inside the penalty box. Looked poor in general.
Ivan Ilic – 7
A brilliant performance from the young Serbian who was easily his side’s best player of the night. Scored Verona’s lone goal with a marvelous lob after stealing the ball himself, and was always present to support his team on both phases.
Darko Lazovic – 6
The former Genoa man was involved in his team’s attacking plays, but often found difficulties when trying to get past Darmian.
Matteo Cancellieri – 5.5
The young Italian is obviously one for the future and, despite putting on a brave performance, his game needs to be sharpened.
Mattia Zaccagni – 6
A less-vibrant performance than usual from the number 10. Yet, he was the Gialloblu’s most dangerous player. Was often marked by Skriniar, but still managed to create havoc in his opponents’ areas whenever he found some space.
Antonin Barak – 5.5
A generous performance from the Czech who surprisingly took the false 9 position, but he proved to be unfit for the role as he failed to convert two promising chances inside the penalty box.
Verona Substitutes
Nicolò Casale – 6
Replaced Ceccherini in the second half and put on a decent performance.
Kevin Lasagna – 5.5
The former Udinese striker was supposed to add depth to the attack, but saw very little of the ball.
Pawel Dawidowicz – N/A
Bosko Sutalo – N/A
Adrien Tameze – N/A
Joaquin Correa Delivers Simone Inzaghi and Inter Second Win in a Row https://t.co/9NUnbtZzlr pic.twitter.com/kpgKXdkHaU
— The Cult of Calcio (@cultofcalcio) August 27, 2021
Inter XI
Samir Handanovic – 5
Another shocking mistake from the Slovenian veteran who gave away the ball with an inexplicable pass seconds before being beaten by Ilic’s volley. Barely had anything to do for the rest of the match.
Milan Skriniar – 6.5
A solid performance from the Slovakian defender who chased Zaccagni all over the pitch and retrieved the ball for his side on several occasions.
Stefan de Vrij – 6
A quiet night for the Dutch who didn’t have much to do in the absence of a genuine striker inside the penalty box for the majority of the match.
Alessandro Bastoni – 7
The Italian dealt well with Cancellieri who never managed to trouble him, and almost found the back of the net with an adventurous run followed by low drive that was parried away by Montipò.
Matteo Darmian – 7
The former Red Devil is more often than not one of the unsung heroes of this Inter side. Blocked Lazovic’s crosses on numerous occasions, and provided the assist for Correa’s first goal.
Nicolò Barella – 7
The Euro 2020 winner had an average first half, but his importance was showcased in the second period as he kept running and chasing every ball all over the pitch while most of the players were physically fading.
Marcelo Brozovic – 5.5
The Croatian tried to rectify his captain’s mistake on Verona’s goal but was beaten to the ball by Ilic. Earned a yellow card for a silly foul and his fiery temper prompted Simone Inzaghi to take him off the pitch relatively early.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 5
After a thrilling debut against Genoa, the Turk went completely missing against Verona, and it was quite surprising to see him last on the pitch for almost 90 minutes. His only memorable contribution was finding Darmian on the edge of the box with a decent pass.
Ivan Perisic – 6
The Croatian suffered to create an impact from the left wing, and yet, he made the difference in a unexpected fashion, causing chaos inside the Verona box with his long thrown-ins, which resulted in the first goal for Inter, and almost a second one.
Lautaro Martinez – 7.5
The Argentine is taking all responsibilities following the departure of Romelu Lukaku, and fought to maintain the ball everywhere on the pitch. Leveled the score with a poacher’s header, and almost scored the second but his shot went a little bit wide.
Edin Dzeko – 5.5
The Bosnian nodded a dangerous ball towards Lautaro on one occasion, but aside from it, his contribution for his side was noticeably limited. He was never a threat on Montipò’s goal.
Inter Substitutes
Arturo Vidal – 6.5
Inter’s midfield look much more vibrant after his introduction. Another encouraging display from the bench.
Federico Dimarco – 5.5
Facing his former club, he wasn’t much of an improvement on Perisic.
Joaquin Correa – 8.5
The man of the hour. Twenty minutes is all that he needed to introduce himself to the Inter supporters and prove why Inzaghi wanted this reunion so badly. Scored his first goal with a well-directed header, and added the second with an effortless strike towards the bottom corner. A debut to remember!
Stefano Sensi – N/A
Matias Vecino – N/A
1 – Joaquín Correa:
He scored on his #SerieA debut with Inter, with his 6th touch.
1st player to debut with a brace in Serie A with Inter since Pazzini (2011).
One of the 2 Argentinian to debut with goal with Inter, in the 3 points era, together with Samuel.Decisive. pic.twitter.com/uK28oFrXR2
— OptaPaolo ? (@OptaPaolo) August 27, 2021