Inter wingback Matteo Darmian has come in for some criticism for his lack of attacking impact in his substitute appearance for the Italian national team yesterday evening.
The 33-year-old received a score of 5.5/10 in the player ratings for the Azzurri’s 2-0 win over Malta in the player ratings for the match published in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who argued that Darmian was fine but nothing special.
Darmian was called up by Italy coach Roberto Mancini because of his reliability and versatility, and that is exactly what he showed to replace Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the second half of yesterday’s match against Malta.
In the view of the Corriere, however, the Inter wingback did not show enough.
In his first appearance for the Azzurri since starting in the goalless draw with Sweden at San Siro which saw the team miss out on the 2018 World Cup, Darmian didn’t do anything wrong, but did not do much besides see out the match.
Given the quality of the opposition, the Corriere expected more attacking quality from the former Manchester United and Torino player in the final third, and instead Italy’s momentum down the right side seemed to dissipate with Di Lorenzo’s departure.