Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been named as his team’s outstanding performer in a 1-1 Coppa Italia semifinal first leg draw against Juventus yesterday evening.
The 34-year-old received a score of 6.5/10 in the player ratings for the match published in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, whilst striker Lautaro Martinez was named as the Nerazzurri’s worst performer with a 4.5/10 grade.
Inter seemed to get the better of the midfield battle for much of yesterday evening’s match against Juventus, and the efforts of former Roma and Arsenal man Mkhitaryan were key in this respect.
The Armenian showed why he has become an indispensable part of the Nerazzurri’s starting eleven since his move from the Giallorossi last summer.
Mkhitaryan managed to create a couple of chances for teammates, whilst his balance and ball retention under pressure were key to providing balance in the midfield trio alongside Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic.
For the Gazzetta, the 34-year-old was the key player in midfield in a match that Inter coach Simone Inzaghi felt that his side had “dominated.”
Meanwhile, Francesco Acerbi and Matteo Darmian were given the same score as the Armenian.
All of Danilo D’Ambrosio, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, Edin Dzeko, Romelu Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic, and Federico Dimarco were also considered to have put in solid performances.
On the other hand, the substitute appearance of wingback Robin Gosens was not considered to be up to par by the Gazzetta, with the 28-year-old German international receiving a score of just 5/10.
Even worse was Martinez, the newspaper argues.
Whilst the Argentine tried to drop back and make things happen on a few occasions, he was virtually invisible in the Juventus penalty area.
Against a solid Bianconeri backline, the Inter striker completely lost the physical battle as he was unable to make an impact in front of goal.
