Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku were unimpressive in Inter’s 0-1 loss to Bologna. After a poor first half, the Nerazzurri were seemingly on course to snatch at least a point, but a terrible turnover on the backline allowed the hosts to earn a deserved victory. Elsewhere, the Inter midfield never found its footing, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan turned in another disappointing performance.
Andre Onana – 7
While Bologna did not exactly pepper the goal with shots, Onana still had a strong showing. The goalkeeper came off his line confidently to claim balls, and he had no chance to stop Bologna’s crushing late goal.
Matteo Darmian – 6
After playing on the wing against Porto, Darmian returned to the backline for the away fixture. He turned in a solid, if unspectacular performance, keeping Roberto Soriano mostly quiet in the attacking midfield.
Stefan De Vrij – 4.5
It was a rough game for the defender. He struggled against Musa Barrow, failing to close out the striker on a goal overturned by VAR. After he committed a clumsy foul outside of the box to end the first half, Simone Inzaghi removed De Vrij at halftime.
Alessandro Bastoni – 8
Likely Inter’s man of the match, Bastoni turned in a typically impressive performance. The centre-back fed the ball into the midfield with ease, and his one-on-one defending was at its best.
Robin Gosens – 7
In the first half, Gosens was one of the the few Inter players who flashed in the attack, but his quality dropped significantly during the latter 45 minutes.
Denzel Dumfries – 5
Simply put, Andrea Cambiaso outclassed the Dutch wing-back in the channel. Dumfries resorted to frequently fouling the young defender when he ventured forward, and he lacked the spark and drive that his side needed on the wing.
Marcelo Brozovic – 6
As always, the holding midfielder provided a decent outlet for Inter’s defenders, but his contributions to build-up play were negligible.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 4
For the second straight match, Mkhitaryan turned in a disappointing performance in the midfield. The Armenian turned the ball over far too easily, and he ruined Inter’s best chance of the match, shooting instead of finding a wide-open Gosens for a tap-in.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 5.5
While the Turk did not make the sheer number of errors that Mkhitaryan did, he often struggled going forward and often occupied the same space as Brozovic.
Lautaro Martinez – 6
Throughout the match, Inter’s midfield was woefully disconnected from its strikers. Lautaro frequently had to drop into the midfield to find the ball, but his efforts did not lead to much of anything in the attacking third.
Romelu Lukaku – 5
Unlike Martinez, Lukaku did not make much of an effort to get on the ball. On the rare occasions that the striker did receive service, his hold-up play was decent, but his domestic form continues to be unimpressive.
Bologna are attacking Inter with a vengeance:
– had a PK call waved off
– scored a goal but on VAR check it was offsides
– now they just hit the crossbarThiago Motta’s team is playing great
If you’re not watching this, it’s time to tune in pic.twitter.com/mQG22OjDVm
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) February 26, 2023
Substitutes
Francesco Acerbi – 6
After taking the pitch at halftime, Acerbi provided a significant upgrade over De Vrij. However, the big man’s aerial prowess was not enough to help his side preserve the clean sheet.
Nicolo Barella – 5
Inter desperately needed a spark in the midfield, but Barella was unable to provide it.
Edin Dzeko – 5
In his 500th top five league appearance, Dzeko could not improve where Lukaku failed as the target man.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 3
The defender took the pitch and promptly turned the ball over, resulting in the Rossoblu counter attack that netted the late game-winner for Bologna.