Inter Milan wingback Federico Dimarco has received for some criticism for a poor defensive showing against Atalanta.
Today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, give the 25-year-old a score of just 5.5/10 in the player ratings for the match.
There is no doubt that Dimarco is a key man for Inter in possession.
And the Italian international showed why on a handful of occasions yesterday evening.
When Dimarco could get himself into space in the final third, he was a real outlet for teammates.
But the problem concerned the amount of times that that actually happened. In truth, it wasn’t really the match for Dimarco.
The 25-year-old had a tough night against Davide Zappacaosta and, in particular, Teun Koopmeiners.
Inter Wingback Federico Dimarco Criticized For Defensive Showing Vs Atalanta
Yesterday’s match was not necessarily the ideal one for Dimarco.
Inter will have known full well that Atalanta would push high up the pitch and try to man-mark them tightly and in an organized manner.
For Dimarco, this often meant an individual battle with former AZ midfielder Koopmeiners.
And for long stretches, the Inter wingback struggled to keep up.
Koopmeiners’s movement, athleticism, and quick thinking in possession meant that he was able to be a major hub for La Dea’s possession.
And on the other hand, Atalanta’s left side were able to keep Dimarco too busy defensively to really allow him to push forward.
This seemed to be a deliberate tactic by La Dea. By pushing Dimarco back, they did manage to restrict a major source of Inter’s creativity and threat.
Eventually, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi replaced Dimarco with Carlos Augusto.
The Brazilian did not put in the most eye-catching display.
But he did fair better than Dimarco had. It proved to be an important substitution for Inter to see out the last half hour of the match.
