Inter defender Francesco Acerbi has been praised for yet another top-notch performance marshalling the defense in a big match after his display against Juventus yesterday evening.
The 35-year-old was given a score of 7/10 in the player ratings for the match published in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who note that he hardly put a foot wrong as he was at the heart of another big clean sheet.
Acerbi hardly arrived at Inter with fanfare when he made the move on loan from Lazio on the final day of last summer transfer window.
On the contrary, the experienced defender was seen by many fans as something of an uninspiring compromise of a signing when compared with other mooted targets in defense, in particular the Nerazzurri’s failed pursuit of Bremer who joined Juventus.
However, in match after match this season Acerbi has proven exactly what Inter coach Simone Inzaghi had pushed hard for his arrival.
The coach had been impressed with how Acerbi slotted in to replace Stefan de Vrij at Lazio when he arrived from Sassuolo after the Dutchman’s free transfer to Inter, and convinced that this would make him an ideal low-cost, low-drama reinforcement for a gruelling season.
The EURO 2020 winner has largely displaced de Vrij from the starting eleven at Inter, and his big match performances have been a big part of the reasons why.
The 35-year-old was a pillar at the back yesterday evening, with his physicality and positional sense key to making sure the ball was always cleared away half a step before a dangerous Juventus chance could emerge.
Meanwhile, midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Barella, and wingback Federico Dimarco, were rated even more highly by the Corriere, each receiving a score of 7.5./10 as the Nerazzurri reached the Coppa Italia final for the second season running.