At the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milano, Inter sought their first European victory of the season as they hosted 13-time champions Real Madrid on Match-day four of the Champions League group stage. Unfortunately for Antonio Conte, his former teammate Zinedine Zidane had the best of him one again, as a penalty call, a red card and an own-goal all went in Los Blancos’ favor, and a 2-0 defeat left the Nerazzurri on the verge of elimination.
Here are our player ratings for Inter – Real Madrid.
Inter XI
Samir Handanovic – 6
The Nerazzurri captain made some routine saves, but failed to add another penalty save to his illustrious career. Had no chance on the second goal.
Milan Skriniar – 6
A passable defensive performance from the Slovakian International, but he often looked uncomfortable on the ball.
Stefan De Vrij – 6.5
In the absence of Karim Benzema, the Dutch defender was able to handle Mariano Diaz with ease for most of the match.
Alessandro Bastoni – 5.5
The young Italian’s lack of experience at the highest stages left him exposed at times, and he was taken off at half-time as Conte opted for a different tactical setup.
Achraf Hakimi – 5.5
The Moroccan wing-back is enjoying a stellar season at Inter but it didn’t show in this encounter against his former club,and was unlucky to be recognized as the scorer of the second Real Madrid goal.
Nicolò Barella – 5
The young midfielder is an ever-present starter for both club and country, which explains why he looked exhausted recently. Gave away an early penalty for Los Blancos, and was overrun in midfield.
Roberto Gagliardini – 6
The best of the midfield bunch. The Italy international might lack the vision of Marcelo Brozovic, but at least he did his best to put up a fight for his side.
Arturo Vidal – 2
Just shocking. The Chilean veteran was signed by the Beneamata to add some much needed experience in these type of matches, but ended up earning 2 yellow cards in the space of 10 seconds for repeatedly harassing the match official after rejecting his penalty claim.
Ashley Young – 5
The Englishman didn’t add much to Inter tonight, and had trouble containing Vazquez on the left flank.
Romelu Lukaku – 6
The former Manchester united striker fought hard all night long, and tried to bring his teammates into play, but never found the right support.
Lautaro Martinez – 5
The Inter number 10 is obviously still far from his best physical condition, and was subbed out at half time after failing to trouble the Real Madrid defenses.
Inter Substitutes
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 5.5
He was introduced after half-time as Conte tried to switch to four at the back, but never contributed offensively.
Ivan Perisic – 6
Although Inter barely saw the ball in the second half as Real Madrid completely dominated the match, the Croatian looked by far his side’s most dangerous player.
Alxis Sanchez – N/A
Stefano Sensi –N/A
Christian Eriksen –N/A
3 – Arturo Vidal is one of three players to have been sent off for three different clubs in the Champions League (Inter, Bayern Munich and Barcelona), along with Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Serial. pic.twitter.com/UQj7GIOonB
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 25, 2020
Real Madrid XI
Thibaut Courtois – 6
The Belgian giant was almost a spectator tonight, but went down well to save a dangerous shot from Perisic.
Dani Carvajal – 6.5
The Spanish international wasn’t as involved in the attack as usual, but helped his side dominating the right flank all night long.
Raphaël Varane – 7
The Frenchman usually suffers in the absence of his captain Sergio Ramos, but tonight against Inter he did well to limit Lukaku’s presence inside the Real Madrid box.
Nacho – 8
A stellar performance from Zidane’s utility man. Earned his side an early penalty which allowed Real Madrid to open the scoring early, and blocked every Inter ball thrown in his direction.
Ferland Mendy – 6
The former Lyon man was always present to support the visitors in attack, but wasted at least two good chances with some wrong decision-making, especially when he opted to pass the ball instead of taking an open shot at goal.
Luka Modric – 6.5
A quiet performance from the veteran, who kept the ball ticking for Real Madrid in the middle as Inter players were left chasing shadows.
Toni Kroos – 7.5
A brilliant performance from the former Bayern Munich man. Started the match in a deeper role than usual due to Casemiro’s absence. Created his side’s second goal with a formidable pass to Vazquez.
Martin Ødegaard – 6.5
The Norwegian youngster received a rare chance to start a match, and did mostly well for as long as he lasted on the pitch, linking up the midfield with the attack.
Lucas Vázquez – 7.5
The underrated Spaniard played an important role for Real Madrid tonight, acting as a menace for the Inter defense. Almost doubled the score with a cheeky shot that hit the wide post, and then assisted Rodrygo with a brilliant cross.
Mariano Diaz – 5.5
The backup striker couldn’t really prove his worth tonight, and was overshadowed by his more dynamic teammates.
Eden Hazard – 7
It’s not vintage Hazard, but hopefully we’re getting there. The former Chelsea star opened the scoring with a penalty goal and his dangerous presence was felt throughout the match.
Real Madrid Substitutes
Rodrygo – 6.5
Took his volley goal brilliantly with his first touch of the match just few seconds after coming on.
Casemiro – 6
His introduction spelled more trouble for the already exhausted Inter midfielders.
Vinicius Jr – N/A
3 comments
Comments are closed.