Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij was “dominant” in his substitute appearance against Hellas Verona yesterday.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.
De Vrij will not necessarily have expected to play in yesterday evening’s Serie A clash at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
He certainly will not have anticipated that he would be seeing out most of the match.
Francesco Acerbi had gotten the nod in the Inter starting eleven.
However, the Italian interantional had to come off with a thigh injury after just fifteen minutes.
Therefore, de Vrij had to quickly get ready to come on as a substitute.
The Dutchman rushed onto the pitch and limbered up as he had to replace Acerbi at the heart of Inter’s defense on the fly.
Stefan De Vrij “Dominant” In Inter Serie A Win Vs Hellas Verona
De Vrij certainly did not make Inter regret the loss of Acerbi to injury, however.
The 32-year-old was unflappable in the centre of Inter’s back three.
Up against a very physical strike pairing in the form of Casper Tengstedt and Daniel Mosquera, de Vrij defended the Nerazzurri penalty area without any problems.
The former Lazio and Feyenoord defender’s physicality, anticipation, and experience were all in evidence.
Meanwhile, de Vrij did not just limit himself to defending well.
The Dutchman also got forward with plenty of confidence and quality.
It was de Vrij who made a barnstorming run forward from the backline to get the ball into the final third for Inter’s opening goal.
Then, de Vrij got his first goal of the season for Inter’s fourth of the first half.
Moreover, it was not just a header from a corner or a ball bundled over the goalline.
On the contrary, de Vrij showed his technical quality with an excellent strike from the edge of the penalty area,