Down a goal, Romelu Lukaku inadvertently blocked Federico Dimarco’s equalizer, and Inter lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the Champions League final. While the Nerazzurri put on an impressive defensive display and kept the match closer than expected, they ultimately fell to the best team in Europe.
Andre Onana – 8.5
Without Onana’s strong play, Inter could have faced a significant deficit at halftime. The goalkeeper manned the posts well, keeping out Erling Haaland from close-range multiple times.
Alessandro Bastoni – 8
Against the likes of Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, Bastoni was magnificent. He dominated aerial challenges and silenced City’s right-wing. In the second half, he made one of the plays of the match with a brilliant tackle on Haaland inside the box, preventing an almost-certain goal.
Francesco Acerbi – 6.5
Early on, the towering centre-back had a tough time defending against Haaland. At times, the striker’s movement and positioning seemed to overwhelm Acerbi, but he rebounded effectively in the second half.
Matteo Darmian – 7.5
As the third centre-back, Darmian had a quietly decent showing. He won his fair share of aerial challenges, and he proved difficult to bypass for the favorites.
Federico Dimarco – 7
In the first half, Dimarco was by far the most influential Inter player on offense. He pushed the ball high up the wing and created several chances with quality balls played into the box.
Denzel Dumfries – 4
Like many of Inter’s players, Dumfries struggled to accomplish much when he was on the ball. For much of the match, he was desperately defending against Jack Grealish, and he failed to provide the service that the Nerazzurri forwards desperately needed.
Marcelo Brozovic – 5.5
Once again, the space between the lines was a point of weakness for Inter. The communication between Brozovic and his centre-backs seemed to be lacking, and City nearly exposed this flaw with a few uncontested shots from outside the box.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 5
Calhanoglu’s service, normally outstanding, was rather poor. The Turk made very few plays for his side and lacked his typical energy and distribution when on the ball.
Nicolo Barella – 5
It was quite a disappointing performance from the midfielder. He made very few contributions to Inter’s counter-attacking forays, and he committed a number of poor fouls, some of which gave the favorites free kicks from enticing positions.
Edin Dzeko – 4.5
Though he was solid in the air, Dzeko struggled to find the ball throughout the match. The striker was simply not active enough in build-up play, managing only ten touches in the first half. Unsurprisingly, Dzeko left the pitch in favor of Romelu Lukaku just ten minutes into the second half.
Lautaro Martinez – 6
The striker put in the effort, making plays in every zone of the pitch, but he ultimately suffered from terrible service and build-up play from the Inter midfield.
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Substitutes
Romelu Lukaku – 4
The Belgian took the pitch to give Inter a quicker option on the counter. However, the striker wasted two key chances to equalize, blocking a point-blank header from Dimarco and mis-hitting his own attempt from close-range.