Italy & Turkey Stars Under Fire For Ineffective Midfield Sub Appearances In Inter Milan 0-3 AC Milan Coppa Italia Crashout | OneFootball

Davide Frattesi and Hakan Calhanoglu are facing criticism for their subpar substitute appearances for Inter Milan against AC Milan yesterday.

Today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, argue that the pair were totally ineffective in the midfield battle.

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi decided to change things up in the second half of yesterday’s Coppa Italia semifinal second leg against AC Milan.

With his side trailing 0-2, the Nerazzurri coach made four substitutions in one go just before the hour mark.

Notable, Inzaghi switched up two thirds of his midfield trio.

Off came Nicolo Barella and Kristjan Asllani. And replacing them like-for-like were Davide Frattesi and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Calhanoglu & Frattesi Criticized For Performances In Inter 0-3 AC Milan Loss

MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 08: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano at Fussball Arena Muenchen on April 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

But in truth, Inter’s midfield hardly looked better with Frattesi and Calhanoglu on.

On the contrary, the Nerazzurri only seemed to further fall off the pace of the midfield battle.

Frattesi and Calhanoglu may have had fresh legs. But that was evidently not what Inter needed.

Frattesi attempted to really push up the pitch, making some of his trademark runs to try and force Milan back and give the team an outlet up the pitch.

But this did not result in any real danger in the Rossoneri penalty area.

Meanwhile, Calhanoglu offered little more in or out of possession than the player he had replaced, Asllani.

In the end, Milan were able to calmly retain possession and take the sting out of the game to protect their 2-0 advantage.