Make sure you head over to our new YouTube channel for Inter Worldwide here. Please like and subscribe as we continue to build out the community.
Inter have played out a 0-0 draw against Atalanta, as Handanovic was sensational and gained our Man of the Match. Unfortunately Inter did not take the chances on offer, but a point away from home against a strong team like Atalanta is not a bad result.
There were many great performances on the pitch today, so let’s look at some of the key takeaways.
Man of the Match –
Batmanovic is back with a vengeance! It’s like he got told before the match “your job is on the line so show me your best” from Inzaghi. Handanovic was superb inside the sticks and was the main reason for the clean sheet on Inter’s side.
The match was definitely a battle between the goalies, as Musso was easily Atalanta’s best on the pitch today too. As a neutral it would’ve been fantastic viewing, as both the number 1’s did everything they could for the result to go in their teams favour.
In regards to Handanovic, he was back to his best from a few seasons ago. There were a couple of mentionable saves, but the one that stands out was the save on Muriel.
A sloppy cleanup at the back from Bastoni had Muriel in on goal. As Muriel approached closer to goal, he eyed which corner he aim for. A world class save down to Handanovic’s left allowed him to parry the ball out of danger saving Inter from a potentially losing position.
Over the course of the season, Samir has had his critics. Especially in recent times with Onana officially signing with Inter (joining in June). Although the man may be coming to the end of his career, there would be a large majority of teams in Italy where he would be the starter.
We shall see what the future holds, but for the moment he is still our capitano and an crucial piece to this squad.
Special mention –
If money is the issue for Perisic’s new contract discussions, just pay the man what he wants. Over the last 6 months, Ivan has been a man on a mission. His performances are going from strength to strength as he’s making the left side of the pitch his own.
A credit to Perisic, as he is a player who is physically so fit. The ability to run up and down for 90 minutes is absolutely phenomenal. Considering Perisic played a major part in the midweek game against Juventus, it was surprising to how fresh he looked in the match today.
There is a special mention, as Perisic’s game is as close to perfect as it can get for a wingback. His defensive contributions are so underrated too.
There was an occasion today when both Bastoni and Skriniar were caught in no-mans-land. Muriel was completely free and the ball was on it’s way to him on the edge of the box.
Here comes our hero Ivan to save the day, and that he did. Perisic intercepted the ball before playing back to Handanovic where to ball was cleared.
This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last where Perisic’s efforts saved Inter. If you haven’t noticed the work Perisic does on the defensive side, I urge you to watch him closely next time.
It’s a part of his game which the fans may appreciate, but this could be the reason why Inter isn’t as solid with Dimarco in that wingback position. I really hope Perisic will re-sign with Inter, as he is very important to the success of this team at the moment.
Underwhelming?
It has to be mentioned, as our strike-force in Dzeko and Sanchez were very underwhelming today.
Sanchez had one of the best opportunities of the match where Hakan put him one on one with Musso. Instead of hitting the ball low and hard, Sanchez went for a finesse shot which Musso comfortably got across to with his glove.
Dzeko on several occasions failed to even hit the target which really cost Inter the win. Two headers which he should’ve buried into the back of the net instead sailed way past the target.
The second was almost the chance of the match as Dumfries perfectly set him up. A header from Dumfries across goal, with Dzeko only a couple of yards out but he failed to control the headed shot properly.
I know we have a really tight schedule at the moment, but this seemed like the perfect game to start Lautaro. Especially since he scored within 5 minutes last time these two sides met.
There was just a lot lacking up front, as Dzeko has his this issue for a little while now. Also I think Sanchez has more impact coming off the bench playing against a tiring defence.
We have four strikers on the roster, but just none of them seem to be as potent as we would like. Our forwards need to be clinical, but they just aren’t up to the standard which we would expect for the best team in a country.
Those half chances need to be taken if we are going to be competitive against teams like Liverpool moving forward.
Where to next?
San Siro awaits Inter for the next little while as Inter will have 3 home games in a row. First we will face Empoli in the Coppa Italia where I would expect Inzaghi to rest a lot of players. We may see the likes of Gagliardini, Ranocchia, Vecino and Sensi get a start for Inter.
Then it’s back to Serie A where we’ll play Venezia at home. Again, I would expect another rotation of the squad to be made so all the key players are fresh.
Prediction: Inter 1-0 Empoli
As always, Forza Inter!
