Despite a late scare for the Nerazzurri, Inter managed to seal a 1-0 victory over Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani, extending their magnificent start to the season to five consecutive wins.

Whilst the Beneamata lacked the finishing touch within the first half, wing-back Federico Dimarco served as the difference maker with a superb screamer from outside the box following a deflection off a corner, firing past shot-stopper Etrit Berisha into the top-right corner to break the deadlock.

Although the Azzurri had a glimmer of hope towards the latter stages of the match as several goal-scoring occasions emerged, coach Simone Inzaghi’s side managed to remain compact in order to seal all three points on Tuscan soil, maintaining first place within the Serie A 2023/24 standings.

Without further ado, here are our Inter player ratings versus Empoli this afternoon.

Inter (3-5-2)

Yann Sommer- 7

The Switzerland shot-stopper made numerous key saves in the second half to keep his side in the game, earning himself his fourth clean-sheet of the season. In addition, the 34-year-old made some impressive passes when playing out of the back.

Alessandro Bastoni-5.5

Despite some impressive overlapping runs and key passes, the Italian central defender’s timing was off the mark, causing him to get beat on several occasions far too easily. The promising defender was reckless at times whilst defending, causing him to earn a yellow after tugging Tommaso Baldanzi as the young starlet was seemingly on the break towards goal.

Francesco Acerbi-6

The former Lazio defender put his body on the line when needed in order to make vital blocks to keep the three points alive. The veteran defender’s anticipation and read of the game was superb as he dominated the air with some brilliant headers to eliminate goal-scoring threats.

Benjamin Pavard-6.5

The Frenchman had an impressive Nerazzurri debut, making some fine challenges in order to recover the ball and demonstrated his ability to play progressive and direct football, making impressive runs out-wide and finding his teammates with crisp passes whilst constructing out of the back.

Matteo Darmian-5.5

Was quite uninvolved for the most part but made some key tackles to recuperate the ball and fired a fine headed attempt towards goal within the first half, which almost broke the ice for Inzaghi’s side as it was cleared off the line.

Federico Dimarco-6

Despite a poor first half filled with numerous heavy touches and poor crosses, the Italian wing-back seemed rejuvenated after the break, refining his technical ability out-wide and scoring a staggering strike to help Inter seize all three points.

Davide Fratessi-7

The former Sassuolo central-playmaker was key within the midfield, serving as a catalyst with his exuberant energy on the ball and his immaculate passing ability.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu-6.5

The Turkish international utilized his tactical awareness well to break up the play and made some key one-two combinations in order to break Empoli’s defensive shape. The former Rossonerri midfielder caused trouble with his exquisite diagonal passes in the second half to switch the direction of play.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan-6

The Armenian international was a threat driving forward on the ball with his explosive pace as he glided through the central area of the pitch. In addition, the former Roma midfielder made some impressive one-two combinations out-wide and through the middle to link-up with the pair of strikers up-top.

Lautaro Martinez-6

Although the Argentine worked hard to track back defensively and dropped low to create space for Marcus Thuram, the Inter skipper struggled to hit the mark as he failed to pose any sort of menacing threat towards Empoli’s defence and test the keeper.

Marcus Thuram-6.5

The Frenchman’s utilized his physical strength to link-up with the midfield and his fine-tuned technical ability to keep the ball away from his markers in fine fashion. Despite not entering the score-sheet, Thuram’s blistering pace caused trouble for Empoli, as he almost found the back of the net as he cut towards the inside and fired slightly above the bar, fine margins away from scoring in similar fashion as he did within the Milan derby.

Substitutes:

Nicolò Barella-5

Although the Italian international only came on for the last 20 minutes, the 26 year-old made some nice passes and demonstrated his relentless work-rate when fresh legs were very much needed.

Stefan De Vrij-5.5

The Dutchman helped his side keep it tight at the back until the very last whistle with some key blocks and impressive challenges.

Marko Arnautović-5

The former Bologna marksman had some moments of brilliance but experienced some sloppy touches on the ball, causing Inter to lose the ball far too easily. The Austrian was found on the break with an impressively timed run in-behind, but lost the ball as he was unable to beat his marker. His shift ended earlier than wanted as he suffered an injury, which forced Inter to see out the final remaining minutes with only ten men on the pitch.

Alexis Sánchez-N/A

Carlos Augusto-N/A