The 26th round of Serie A had one last big encounter in store, as Inter welcomed Atalanta on Monday night. The hosts were the slightly better side during the first 45 minutes, but they failed to capitalize on the situation. The Nerazzurri took the lead at the beginning of the second half through Milan Skriniar, and managed to defend it for the remaining time, as it ended 1-0 for the hosts at the Guiseppe Meazza. So here are our player ratings for top Serie A top clash between Inter and Atalanta.
Inter XI
Samir Handanovic – 7
The Slovenian pulled off a solid save to deny Zapata’s header in the first half, and saved Muriel’s effort after the break with his leg. The veteran always looked well-alerted to the action.
Milan Skriniar – 7.5
The Slovakian was the author of the lone goal, as Inter made an enormous step towards sealing the Scudetto title by beating the dangerous Atalanta. The defender also had a tough physical battle against Zapata, and managed to limit the Colombian’s threat as much as possible.
Stefan de Vrij – 6-5
A surprisingly comfortable night for the former Lazio man who kept the defensive line tidy and solid. Helped Skriniar in dealing with Zapata.
Alessandro Bastoni – 7
The young Italian is known for being an impressive defender, but his skills on the ball are rapidly growing with time, as his vertical crosses from the back have become an additional weapon for Antonio Conte.
Ashraf Hakimi – 5.5
The former Real Madrid star had a quiet match compared to his high standards. Was second best for Gosens at times, and had to stay at the back for most of the second half as the Beneamata were defending their lead.
Nicoló Barella – 6
The former Cagliari man is always full of energy and enthusiasm, but couldn’t burst forward as much as he usually does.
Marcelo Brozovic – 6.5
The Croatian is the lynchpin in Conte’s midfield, as he kept switching play from left to right, trying to find a breakthrough within the Orobici lines.
Arturo Vidal – 5.5
The Chilean veteran was given the nod to start the match, but he couldn’t do enough to convince his coach to keep him on the pitch until the hour mark. Was pegged back by Freuler’s pressing throughout the first half.
Ivan Perisic – 5.5
The former Bayern winger was barely seen throughout the first half, except for once occasion when he pounced on a long ball from Bastoni. In the second half he had to play a tactical role, which was mostly tracking Maehle.
Lautaro Martinez – 6
A hard-working display from the number 10 who tracked back to support his teammates and helped them in retrieve the ball. Nonetheless, he wasted two promising counter attacks with poor passing.
Romelu Lukaku – 6
The big Belgian was able to escape the neat Atalanta marking at times, but his Inter teammates never really managed to put him in a clear goal-scoring opportunity,
Inter Substitutes
Christian Eriksen – 5.5
The Dane replaced Vidal and mostly stayed deep into his own half – perhaps too deep to get anything going.
Alexis Sanchez – N/A
Roberto Gagliardini – N/A
Matteo Darmian – N/A
Danilo D’Ambrosio – N/A
Atalanta XI
Marco Sportiello – 5.5
The Atalanta shot-stopper conceded from the only shot on target by Inter. But truth to be told, he couldn’t do much about it.
Rafael Toloi – 6
The captain slipped to the ground on two occasions which could have gifted the hosts easy goals, but beside that he looked composed at the back, and tried to support his teammates up front.
Cristian Romero – 7
Anther great performance from the young Argentine, who once again managed to contain Lukaku better than anyone else. Made some extremely well-time interceptions, and was never afraid to go shoulder to shoulder with the gigantic number 9.
Berat Djimsiti – 6.5
Another good performer at the back for La Dea. The Albanian helped Romero in his battle against Lukaku and dealt well with the rest of the Nerazzuri crew.
Joakim Maehle – 6
After a quiet first half, the Dane tried his best to provide the strikers with good balls from the right flank.
Remo Freuler – 6
The Swiss international did well in his battle against Vidal in the first half, but he lacked the creative touch when Atalanta needed an equalizer after the Inter goal.
Marten de Roon – 6
A very similar performance to his midfield partner. The former Middlesbrough man helped his side in controlling the middle of the park in the first 45 minutes, but his passing let him down inside the final third.
Robin Gosens – 6.5
The German wingback was one the most dangerous players for the visitors during the first half, but for some reason, the Orobici decided to abandon the left flank after the break and focused mostly on Maehle’s right wing.
Matteo Pessina – 6.5
The Italian midfielder is growing in skills and confidence with every appearance he makes. Was never afraid of making runs towards the opposition’s penalty box, and provided Zapata with one of the most dangerous goal-scoring opportunities of the match.
Ruslan Malinovskiy – 5.5
The Ukrainian wasn’t very effective in attack during the first 45 minutes, and he was rightly taken off when Gian Piero Gasperini needed a second striker.
Duvan Zapata – 6
The former Sampdoria man threatened the Inter defenses with his smart movement and dangerous runs, but his final touch abandoned him at the most crucial moments.
Atalanta Substitutes
Josip Ilicic – 5
After the first encounter against Real Madrid, the Slovenian star once again failed to deliver after coming off as a substitute in the second half. His runs were often easily intercepted, and his crosses failed to create danger.
Luis Muriel – 5.5
The former Sevilla striker was able to create one major opportunity for himself, but was expertly denied by Handanovic.