Inter eked out a narrow 1-0 home victory over relegation-battling Hellas Verona, solidifying their position in the Serie A top-four race. Despite the home side’s quick-fire start, this was a thoroughly painful affair for the eyes.
Lautaro Martinez got Inter off to a flyer, latching onto the loose ball on the edge of the box to open the scoring in the third minute. But that was very much everything Giuseppe Meazza witnessed tonight. Both sides failed to impress, especially the visitors.
While Simone Inzaghi’s cautious approach after taking an early lead has a reasonable explanation, Verona’s unwillingness to take more risks was unfathomable. After beating Cremonese 2-0 last time out, Marco Zaffaroni’s men returned to their old habits, turning on a ‘stealth mode.’
Verona’s dismal showing helped Inter hold onto a slender lead without breaking a sweat. But it’s worth mentioning that they found chances at a premium. It’s hard to say Inzaghi can be proud of his team’s performance, even though they’ve temporarily gone six points clear of fifth-placed Lazio.
Inter (3-5-2)
Andre Onana – 7/10
Called into action only once tonight and reacted as expected from a goalkeeper of his caliber.
Milan Skriniar – 6/10
Lost numerous aerial duels with Milan Djuric and was lucky his poor anticipation never came back to haunt Inter.
Francesco Acerbi – 6/10
Another decent display from the veteran center-back may help him establish himself as a regular starter at the expense of Stefan de Vrij.
Alessandro Bastoni – 7/10
Certainly had more challenging opponents yet held up his end of the bargain by keeping Verona’s uneventful frontline at a safe distance.
Federico Dimarco – 4/10
His well-documented crossing ability let him down tonight. Solid at the back but did nothing worth mentioning on the opposite side of the field.
Roberto Gagliardini – 4/10
Did more than a decent job winning back possession for his team and once again showed creativity is not one of his virtues.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 4/10
It was another one of those nights for the Armenian midfielder. Decision-making was a problem again. Looks like he is developing a habit of picking all the wrong choices.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 5/10
Worked his socks off tonight, continually dropping back to help his team build from the back but failed to impact the game when Inter tried to hurt Verona on the break.
Matteo Darmian – 5/10
Like his counterpart on the left side, the Italian right-back had a quiet game in the attacking sense, saving energy for his defensive battle with Darko Lazovic.
Lautaro Martinez – 7/10
Opened the scoring with a top-class finish and saw his second of the night disallowed for a foul. Undoubtedly the best Inter player this evening.
Edin Dzeko – 2/10
Awful could be the best term to describe the Bosnian striker’s embarrassing performance tonight. Never had a clear sight of Lorenzo Montipo’s goal and had more than just a few wayward touches.
Substitutes
Joaquin Correa – 3/10
It’s no wonder Inzaghi only uses him as a substitute.
Kristjan Asllani – 6/10
Much livelier than his predecessor Calhanoglu, but he may consider passing the ball sooner instead of constantly trying to shoot from every angle.
Robin Gosens – 4/10
Not a shadow of a player that used to tear Serie A defenses apart during his time at Atalanta.
Nicolo Barella – NA/10
Valentin Carboni – NA/10
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