The Nerazzurri opened their defender of the Serie A title with a impressive 4-0 win over Genoa at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan’s San Siro district.
A couple of new faces, a new coach fielding a new formation but the same old Inter as last season, at least against Genoa whom the Nerazzurri defeated thanks to goals from Milan Skriniar, Hakan Calhanoglu, Arturo Vidal and Edin Dzeko.
Samir Handanovic – 6: Barely has anything to do throughout the match but was called on a couple of times. Especially in the first half where he made a mess of things being saved by Milan Skriniar and rest of the defence.
Milan Skriniar – 7,5: A wall. A leader. And now thanks to Hakan Calhanoglu’s fantastic corner a goalscorer once more. Saved Handanovic and Inter on a number of occasions. A captain without an armband.
Stefan de Vrij – 7: Makes defending look like an art form. His passing is faultless and his composure an absolute joy to watch. Elegant as always.
Alessandro Bastoni – 7: Very solid performance defensively but also impressive when helping out in attack as a hybrid full-back coming in from deep, which we saw a lot last season under Conte.
Matteo Darmian – 6.5: Solid performance by Inter’s Mr. Dependability. Rarely puts a foot wrong no matter which position he is forced to play in.
Marcelo Brozovic – 7: Such an important and intelligent player for Inter. His safe passing and ability to never get stressed spreads calm to the defence and the rest of the team so they dare push forward.
Nicolo Barella – 7: Good performance by Nerazzurri’s midfield dynamo who made a stunningassist for Arturo Vidal. Took a beating as always and for some reason it seems that attacking Barella is not against the rules.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 8: Together with fellow new signing Edin Dzeko the best player in the pitch. Made a brilliant assist off a corner and scored a stunning goal assisted by the Bosnian.
Ivan Perisic – 7: A good performance by the Croatian veteran who ran himself to the ground by marauding up and down the left flank. A bit too eager when running offside but overall solid outing.
Stefano Sensi – 6.5: Decent performance by the injury plagued midfielder, especially in the first half. Tired the more he played on and made silly mistakes, especially when making passes in key moments.
Edin Dzeko – 8: Has to be the Man Of The Match given he played the entire match, made an assist, scored a goal and didn’t put a foot wrong from start to finish. His decision making is world class.
Federico Dimarco – 6: Brought on for Ivan Perisic in the 68th minute. Decent performance by the youngster who offered support in attack and was unlucky not to score and make an assist.
Arturo Vidal – 7: What a substitution by the Chilean. Replaced Stefano Sensi in the 68th minute and showed that his talk of wanting to redeem himself is not just talk. Scored and assisted Dzeko for his goal.
Matias Vecino – 6: Substituted on in the 77th minute for Hakan Calhanoglu. Struggled more than one would have expected and was booked after coming on before touching the ball.
Martin Satriano – 6: Came on for Nicolo Barella in the 77th minute. An OK debut by the youngster but the difference in level from pre-season friendlies and Serie A is huge and it showed.
Denzel Dumfries – N/A: Made his debut in the 84th minute replacing Alessandro Bastoni. Played too little to be able to be rated.
Simone Inzaghi – 7: Couldn’t have asked for a better debut which gave echoes of Antonio Conte’s 4-0 debut win against Lecce. The team is reacting to his tactics and it looks stunning.
Valerio Marini – 7: A decent performance by the referee and his assistants. Should have sent of Sturaro but other than that didn’t make any real mistakes.
Inter – 8: After the chaotic and turbulent summer the club has had off the pitch, it was so important to go out on the pitch and give a performance worthy of a defending champion. And Simone Inzaghi’s men delivered.
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