Inter defeated Cremonese in Match Day 4 of the Serie A by 3-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan’s San Siro district in front of 70,750 spectators.
The Nerazzurri started the game flying out of the blocks and broke the deadlock after 12 minutes after Joaquin Correa tapped home the rebound from an Edin Dzeko shot, after Nicolo Barella was the architect behind the counter.
Some 26 minutes later Nicolo Barella scored a dream goal with a lovely volley after another lovely counterattack where Hakan Calhanoglu set up the shot for the second goal.
In the second half Inter continued to pile on the pressure but had to wait until the 76th minute before substitute Lautaro Martinez latched on to a lovely pass by Nicolo Barella to make it 3-0.
Cremonese created a lot of good chances throughout the match mainly due to careless unforced errors by Inter, one of which led to David Okereke scoring in the 90th minute to pull one back for the visitors.
Samir Handanovic – 6,5: Made some decent to good saves, especially in the first half. Had less to do in the second half and had no chance on the Cremonese goal but his lack of movement will irritate his detractors.
Milan Skriniar – 6: Doesn’t look as comfortable as when he and the rest of his colleagues in the back 3 are in form, which neither of them are at the minute.
Stefan de Vrij – 6: A little off the mark, a little out of position and generally just like Milan Skriniar, looks a little uncomfortable in position. Made no big errors as such but gave away ball unnecessarily at times.
Fedrico Dimarco – 6: Close to scoring a stunning free-kick but was just wide. Offers a lot in attack, especially with his fantastic crosses but when he gets tired he makes silly simple mistakes.
Denzel Dumfries – 6,5: A day at the office for the Dutchman who marauded down the right wing and offered width when needed but also cut in to become that extra man in the box.
Nicolo Barella – 8,5: This is the real Barella that Inter fans know and love. Fantastic from start to finish. The architect behind the opening goal, scored the second with a stunning volley and assisted Lautaro for the third.
Marcelo Brozovic – 7: A much better performance by the brain in Inter’s midfield. Looked more relaxed than he has so far, exemplified by his several forward runs into the Cremonese box.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 7,5: Got the assist for Barella’s wondergoal and was generally on his toes. Together with Lautaro Martinez and Nicolo Barella probably Inter’s most in-form player right now.
Matteo Darmian – 6: Inter’s own Mr dependability offered yet another one of those performances. Safe in defence, helped Dimarco a lot defensively. Maybe swapping position with Dimarco when Dimarco is the left centre back?
Joaquin Correa – 7: Scored an easy tap-in into an open goal and did well to link up when tying midfield and attack together. Missed a few simple passes here and there but overall a good performance by Tucu.
Edin Dzeko – 6,5: Looked very lively for the first time in almost 7 months. Makes simple mistakes because his body can’t keep up with his mind, but is a useful player in games like these or as a substitute.
Lautaro Martinez – 7: Came on in the 55th minute for Joaquin Correa who suffered a slight knock and scored a stunning goal showing off all his strengths as a player right now: Strength, technique, intelligence and killer instinct.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 6: Replaced a tired Federico Dimarco in the 72nd minute and did what needed to be done without much fuss. A little passive for Cremonese’s goal but hardly the main culprit.
Kristjan Asllani – 6: Encouraging performance by the youngster who replaced Marcelo Brozovic in the 72nd minute who came off with a knock. Made some nice passes but went walkabout like all of Inter for Cremonese’s goal.
Raoul Bellanova – N/A: Replaced Denzel Dumfries in the 79th minute and didn’t play long enough to be able to be rated fairly.
Robin Gosens – N/A: Replaced Matteo Darmian in the 79th minute and didn’t play long enough to be able to be rated fairly in what could have been his farewell performance in an Inter shirt.
Simone Inzaghi – 7: Got everything pretty much spot on tactically as well as the substitutions but there is work to do on the balance of the team and the defensive line which is currently to high up.
Francesco Fourneau – 7: Referee and his team got all major decisions right and didn’t cause any controversy. Any mistakes made were minor and didn’t impact the game.
Inter – 7,5: Important to give that performance after the drubbing against Lazio to build some confidence going into the derby against AC Milan this Saturday, September 3rd, at 18.00 CET.
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