After finishing as last season’s runner-ups, Inter kickstarted their Champions League campaign on Spanish soil, hosted by Real Sociedad at the San Sebastian Stadium. The Basque-based club was comfortably the better side for the vast majority of the match. They took an early lead through Brais Mendez but wasted a flurry of chances to kill the match. Eventually, Lautaro Martinez salvaged a point for the Nerazzurri who lunged forward in the final stages. So here are our player ratings for Inter who earned their first point in the UCL campaign following a 1-1 draw with Sociedad.
Inter (3-5-2)
Yann Sommer – 6.5
The Swiss veteran made three superb saves that kept Inter in the match. But some might argue that he was the one who put Bastoni in trouble by handing him the ball.
Benjamin Pavard – 6
A solid if unspectacular debut from the Frenchman who gained confidence as the match progressed. Retrieved the ball that culminated in Lautaro’s equalizer.
Stefan de Vrij – 5.5
It wasn’t a terrible outing from the former Lazio man, but he just didn’t inspire confidence at the back. Left his spot to Acerbi in the final stage of the match, possibly after sustaining a knock.
Alessandro Bastoni – 4.5
A night to forget for the Italian international who was the main culprit on the opening goal, allowing Mendez to dispossess him. He was hauled off after 55 minutes in a rare occurrence.
Denzel Dumfries – 6
The Dutchman ran hard from start to finish and was engaged in a crunch duel with Kieran Tierney. But his final touch could have been better.
Nicolò Barella – 6
While it wasn’t his most thrilling display, the Euro 2020 winner fought for every ball and never dropped his guard down. He urged his teammates to keep pushing when the match seemed to be a lost cause.
Kristjan Asllani – 5
The Albanian tried his best to fill the void Hakan Calhanoglu’s absence left, but just couldn’t pull the strings in the middle of the park with Inter in a state of disarray. He also earned a yellow card which accelerated his inevitable early exit.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5
The Armenian failed to replicate his Derby della Madonnina heroics. Sociedad players never gave him any room to maneuver for 70 disappointing minutes.
Carlos Augusto – 6
An encouraging full debut from the former Monza man whom Simone Inzaghi opted to keep on the pitch for the entirety of the match. Contributed on both ends of the field and provided the assist for Thuram’s disallowed goal.
Marko Arnautovic – 4.5
A torrid outing from the Austrian veteran. Although he was clearly offside, he should have done comprehensively better in his one-on-one chance against the Sociedad goalkeeper. Failed to connect with Lautaro and the rest of his teammates.
Lautaro Martinez – 6.5
Truth be told, it was a listless performance from the Inter captain who was frustrated by the lack of service. But managed to save face by powering his low-range shot past the goalkeeper and securing the all-important equalizer.
Substitutes
Marcus Thuram – 6
The Frenchman was easily an upgrade on Arnautovic. His runs caused havoc at the back for Sociedad. Scored a goal that was disallowed for offside.
Davide Frattesi – 6.5
The former Sassuolo man hardly made himself noticed until he provided a spectacular assist for Lautaro’s equalizer.
Federico Dimarco – 6
The Italian operated as part of the back three. Inter immediately showed signs of improvement on the offensive side following his introduction.
Alexis Sanchez – 6
The Chilean operated as a playmaker in the middle of the park. Added a flair that was sorely missing for most of the match.
Francesco Acerbi – N/A
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Reporter should stop pointing out player’s nationality or if he desperately wants to do that then he needs to do it for everyone ( other than Italian) .