Defender Stefan de Vrij has won praise for his battling performance in defense during Inter Milan’s Serie A win over Genoa.
L’Interista highlight the solid scores that the Dutchman scores for his performance in the player ratings across Italian media.
De Vrij made his fifth consecutive start for Inter in Sunday’s Serie A match against Genoa.
The Dutchman has been filling in for Francesco Acerbi since the 35-year-old picked up a calf injury in a match against Roma last month.
And whilst Acerbi was able to return against Genoa, he started on the bench.
Therefore, de Vrij started the match in the centre of Inter’s back three. And then, even when Acerbi game on, it was Federico Dimarco he replaced rather than de Vrij, who saw out the entire match.
Stefan De Vrij Praised For Battling Performance In Inter Win Vs Genoa
De Vrij had a tough task on his hands against Genoa.
The 32-year-old had to keep track of Grifone striker Mateo Retegui.
And the Italian international certainly proved to be a difficult player to mark.
Retegui’s physicality and movement, particularly around the penalty area, kept de Vrij on his toes for the entire match.
But the Inter defender just about kept up with the Genoa striker.
Retegui had one major chance, a header that Inter keeper Yann Sommer managed to keep out.
But apart from that, de Vrij commanded his penalty with his usual authority.
The former Lazio and Feyenoord was certainly not afraid to get physical in his marking of Retegui.
And particularly as the match reached its closing stages, Inter relied on de Vrij to keep the danger clear from their penalty area.
The Nerazzurri bent but didn’t break in the final half hour of the match.
And they owed a lot of that to a battling performance from defender de Vrij.
