Inter easily disposed of Sampdoria 3-0 in Match Day 12 of the 2022/2023 Serie A season at a packed Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after goals from Stefan de Vrij, Nicolo Barella and Joaquin Correa.
The Nerazzurri recorded their fourth consecutive win in the Serie A, but didn’t give an overall performance on par with the scoreline, especially in the opening 15 minutes in the first half.
In the 21st minute, Hakan Calhanoglu hit a lovely corner which Stefan de Vrij headed home to break the deadlock.
Just before the interval MOTM Alessandro Bastoni played a world class, long, diagonal pass for Nicolo Barella whose finish was just as good, to double the Nerazzurri’s lead.
In the second half, Inter created a lot more chances and commanded the game throughout created chance after chance but failed to convert.
That is until substitute Joaquin Correa scored the second world class goal of the night and the Nerazzurri’s third to secure the three points.
André Onana – 6,5: Barely had anything to do for most of the game but pulled off a good save when needed. Gave the more than 73,000 in the stands a scare when losing the ball from a cross, something he seems to do quite often.
Milan Skriniar – 7,5: Another day at the office for the captain who has really grown with the task of captaining the Nerazzurri. A leader at the back who read every single situation right in both phases of play.
Stefan de Vrij – 8: Outstanding performance. His best in almost two seasons. Broke the deadlock with an excellent header and then gave a vintage De Vrij performance showcasing his intelligence and above all elegance. Would be MOTM…
Alessandro Bastoni – 8: …if not for Bastoni who is currently unplayable. Barely puts a foot wrong in defence and brilliant in attack. His long ball for Barella for the second goal was a carbon copy of goal at home against Juve during Scudetto winning season. MOTM again.
Denzel Dumfries – 6,5: Difficult game for the Dutchman who injured himself already during the pre-match warm-up. Worked so hard and runs so much but his final cross lets him down more often than not. Hopefully not injured.
Nicolo Barella – 8: Scored for the third consecutive Serie A game on the trot and what a beauty it was. In excellent form and playing brilliantly yet it feels he has at least another 20% to give to reach his full capacity which says it all.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 7,5: Another stellar performance by the Turkish midfielder who has never played consistently better at any point since his move to the Serie A. Today, he’s also expressed that via an assists, for the opener.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6,5: A day at the office kind of performance by the Armenian who is so incredibly cool and calm and collected with the ball. His read of the game and the timing of his movement ooze class and intelligence.
Federico Dimarco – 6,5: Not the best performance by the Italian wingback. Struggled at times defensively when he’s caught between two minds which a better team could and have in the past taken advantage of. Did well in attack as always.
Lautaro Martinez – 6,5: Starting to look a little bit tired which is no surprise given how much he has played in the last 4 weeks. Hopefully doesn’t feature at all against Bayern so he’s rested against Juventus.
Edin Dzeko – 6,5: Also starting to look like the intense fixture list is starting to impact his performances which also is not a surprise given his age and how much he’s played. Hopefully rested against Bayern on Tuesday.
Joaquin Correa – 7: Replaced Edin Dzeko in the 68th minute and scored a world class goal 5 minutes later to put the game to bed when making it 3-0. Slowly but surely working himself to full match fitness.
Romelu Lukaku – 6,5: Substituted on in the 68th minute for Lautaro Martinez and looked a but heavier and less mobile than against Viktoria Plzen, which is to be completely expected given how long he’s been away due to injury.
Francesco Acerbi – 6: Brought on in the 69th minute for Alessandro Bastoni and showed once again that he really shouldn’t be played to the left of the back 3 when almost putting the ball in the back of his own net.
Raoul Bellanova – 6,5: Came on for the injured Denzel Dumfries in the 79th minute who limped off. Has lightning quick acceleration and should start against Bayern on Tuesday as the experience will do him a world of good.
Kristjan Asllani – N/A: The young midfielder replaced the excellent Hakan Calhanoglu in the 83rd minute and didn’t play long enough to be able to be rated.
Simone Inzaghi – 7: Got the tactics and starting lineup spot on against a poor Sampdoria side, making proactive substitutions, with Correa’s in particular paying off. Needs to rotate heavily against Bayern to go fresh into an important final week before World Cup break playing Juventus, Bologna and Atalanta in that order.
Luca Massimi – 3: His performance was reminiscent of one of those ships in a bottle in that it had everyone watching asking: “how did he and his assistants get in here?” Not ready on any level, looking nervous and confused.
Inter – 7: The rating is for keeping a clean sheet and scoring two world class goals, not the performance itself which if we’re perfectly honest doesn’t warrant higher than a 6,5, especially in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
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