Stefan de Vrij was the only Inter Milan defender at the required level in the Nerazzurri’s shock Serie A defeat to Sassuolo.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.
Inter only conceded one goal against Sassuolo yesterday evening.
But that was enough to see the Nerazzurri fall to their second league defeat of the season – both came against the Neroverdi.
Wingback Denzel Dumfries was the biggest culprit in terms of the defensive breakdown.
The Dutchman allowed Josh Doig to carry the ball into the penalty area far too easily, leading to the goal.
But there was also some poor positioning from defender Benjamin Pavard.
Throughout the match, Pavard had looked a bit nervy. There were several fouls from the Frenchman, who looked overeager to commit himself physically.
Alessandro Bastoni on the other side of the defense looked tired at times, and came off during the second half.
But there was one Inter defender who had a solid match, in the view of Tuttosport.
Stefan De Vrij The Best Inter Defender In Sassuolo Loss
32-year-old former Lazio defender de Vrij marshalled Inter’s backline well all match.
Apart from their goal, Sassuolo created next to nothing in the Inter area.
And a lot of that was down to the job that de Vrij did.
The Dutchman had the task of marking former Nerazzurri striker Andrea Pinamonti. And in that respect, he was close to flawless.
Pinamonti was almost never able to really hold up the ball.
De Vrij used his physicality as well as reading of the game and anticipation to get to the ball first time and time again.
There were also several aerial balls that the Dutchman won.
And when de Vrij would win back the ball, he was always quick to distribute it to a teammate effectively.
