It all went pearshaped for Frank De Boer and his Inter in their Serie A opener away at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi when Chievo Verona beat the Nerazzurri convincingly thanks to a Man of The Match performance by Valter Birsa who scored a brace. Inter’s poor performance is also reflected below in the ratings as Frank De Boer’s Ajax/Barcelona inspired 3-1-3-3 suicide tactic collapsed against a Chievo that proved beyond all reasonable doubt that Inter aren’t built to play Tiki taka football.
Samir Handanovic – 5: Completely no chance on any of the goals. Was let down completely, yet again, by his defence who conceded too much to opponents.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 3,5: “I’m no Maicon” he said after the match. Thanks, we know Danilo. Can’t cross the ball, awful marking & poor positioning. As per usual.
Andrea Ranocchia – 3: WHY IS HE STILL AT INTER!? And why is he called on to play?! Was as always awful in defense & missed 2 absolute sitters, 1 in each half.
Joao Miranda – 5: Isn’t used to playing witch such poor defenders around him so he was annoyed & irritable the whole night. Did his best considering circumstances.
Yuto Nagatomo – 3,5: WHY IS HE STILL AT INTER!? Part 2. Literally looks & plays like a headless chicken on amphetamine. Chaos & incompetence personified.
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5: Looked well up for it, especially in the 1st half. Looks better physically than he did all year last season. Decent performance.
Gary Medel – 5: Battled, fought & worked his socks off tonight as per usual. Why didn’t he play in the middle of defense with Miranda in 4-2-3-1, Frank De Boer?
Antonio Candreva – 5: No-one disputes his quality but why on earth he started when he clearly isn’t 100% fit is beyond logic let alone why he played 60 mins. Brought off in the 61st minute.
Ever Banega – 5,5: Shows in small bursts what a quality player he is. Oozes of class, intelligence & tactical brilliance. Was substituted in the 70th minute. Oh if he had only signed last season…
Eder – 4,5: Another player that wasn’t anywhere near 100% fit yet played 75 mins! Looked uncomfortable with the ball, sluggish, slow & tired. Came off in the 75th minute.
Mauro Icardi – 4: Totally & utterly invisible until the 61st minute when Ivan Perisic came on & started giving him balls to work with. Icardi has to have support otherwise he’s invisible, everyone seems to see this except the three last Inter coaches.
Ivan Perisic – 5,5: Should have started today, no discussion. Looked hungry, fit but above all like he wanted to play football.
Marcelo Brozovic – 5: His passing lets him down from time to time but he makes up for it with hunger, tenacity, mobility & attitude. Should have played from the start, instead he came on in the 70th minute.
Rodrigo Palacio – 5,5: The veteran striker showed in the brief spell he was on the pitch why he once (?) was a class player.
Frank De Boer – 3: Decided to prove all fears & worries about him at once: deploying a Barcelona/Ajax inspired 3-1-3-3 with this squad is beyond stupid. Nagatomo is no Jordi Alba, Ranocchia is no Pique and D’Ambrosio is most certainly not Dani Alves. Threw away 3 points and the chance to start this season with a little bit of stability after the chaos and turmoil recently when he, aside from the harakiri tactics he deployed, also played a visibly unfit Candreva for 60 minutes at the expense of a visibly matchfit Perisic, decided NOT to play Gary Medel in the middle of defense, a position where he’s won 2 Copa America’s with Chile 2 years in a row, both times beating an Argentina with Higuain, Aguero, Messi etc, as well as fielding Ranocchia, D’Ambrosio and Nagatomo next to each other all at once. Unforgiveably amateurish tactics and coaching against Chievo.
Inter’s performance – 4: Unwatchable. Sterile & impotent when going forward, shaky & nervous when defending. Played & looked more like a relegation contender, than a top 3 challenger.
Massimiliano Irrati – 5: Destroyed the match by making one incorrect decision after another. Incredibly picky & ruined the rhythm of the match by constantly blowing his whistle.
