Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic put in a solid performance on both sides of the ball against Benfica in yesterday’s 2-0 Champions League quarterfinal clash with Benfica, but was lucky that a very late error did not prove costly.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, who suggest that the 30-year-old’s cheap giveaway in midfield in the 95th midfield came close to throwing away all his good work in the prior hour and a half.
Brozovic started yesterday as was widely expected, with the Croat taking his place at the base of Inter’s midfield in the absence of Hakan Calhanoglu who missed the quarterfinal first leg clash through injury.
Calhanoglu has emerged as more or less the first-choice option in the role over this season, having been repurposed into a regista whilst Brozovic has been out with two lengthy injury spells.
So much has this been the case that there have been strong suggestions that Brozovic could be sold during the summer transfer window.
However, for much of yesterday evening’s match at the Estadio da Luz, the 30-year-old gave a timely reminder of his quality and reliability in the centre of the pitch.
Brozovic was all over, and showed his technical proficiency and almost machine-like consistency to recycle possession, keep the tempo of the match up, and win the ball back from Benfica on several occasions.
It was the kind of display that, along with tireless performances from Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on either side of him in the central trio, meant that Inter were very competitive in the midfield battle from start to finish.
However, the Croat nearly squandered all that work with a cheap giveaway in a dangerous area with virtually the last action of the match.
His turnover of possession led directly to a good chance for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos, although keeper Andre Onana came up with a big save to spare his teammate’s blushes and preserved the hard-fought clean sheet.
