Both striker Romelu Lukaku and coach Simone Inzaghi have been handed ratings of 4/10 in the player ratings for Inter’s Serie A defeat at the hands of Fiorentina yesterday evening.
Today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, singled the pair out as the two main culprits as the Nerazzurri slumped to their tenth league defeat of the season.
Lukaku had shown signs that he’s ready to be at his best with his four goals across two matches for Belgium during the international break.
However, the 29-year-old was anything but lethal in front of goal in his return to action at club level.
Whilst Lukaku did battle against Fiorentina’s centre-backs all match, he looked lost where it counted as he squandered a golden opportunity to score in the second half and otherwise was unable to really make an impact in front of goal.
Meanwhile, the Gazzetta take Inzaghi to task for another match in which, after a fairly bright start, Inter looked as though they had fallen into a holding pattern.
Once Fiorentina found the opening goal, the onus was on the Nerazzurri to react, and whilst the coach did make some fairly proactive substitutions, they made little difference to the dynamic of the match.
As things wore on, Inter only looked less and less likely to score rather than really turning up the pressure on La Viola’s goal and piling good chances on.
For the Gazzetta, the blame for this hapless finish to the match has to be laid squarely at the feet of the coach.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andre Onana is named as Inter’s best performer on the night, with a solid 6.5/10 grade.
Respectable 6/10 scores were also handed out to all of Matteo Darmian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Raoul Bellanova, Francesco Acerbi, Stefan de Vrij, and Denzel Dumfries.
Every other Inter player got a lower score for performances which were, if not as shocking as Lukaku’s far from their best.