Inter Player Ratings vs Udinese: Dimarco Sets Nerazzurri Up for Success | OneFootball

Serie A leaders Inter had to survive a late scare in a nerve-shredding 2-1 home victory against Udinese on Saturday evening. Simone Inzaghi’s side posted a third consecutive league win by the skin of their teeth.

Buoyed by back-to-back wins against Atalanta and Monza before the international break, Inter enjoyed a dream start as Marko Arnautovic pounced on Federico Dimarco’s assist to open the scoring after only 12 minutes. It didn’t take long before the Nerazzurri found their second.

Dimarco whipped in another sublime low cross toward Davide Frattesi, who turned it home from point-blank range to make it 2-0 for Inter on the stroke of the half-hour mark. With a mouth-watering Coppa Italia semi-finals against Milan around the corner, Inzaghi made numerous changes in the second half.

However, it nearly backfired on Inter. Fear crept in when Oumar Solet scored a stunning long-range strike in the 71st minute to cut the home side’s lead in half. Lorenzo Lucca nearly drew Udinese level, but Yann Sommer flew through the air to stop his thumping header with a diving save.

Without further ado, let’s look at our player ratings.

Inter (3-5-2)

Yann Sommer – 7.5

After a relatively straightforward first half, the Swiss stopper had plenty to do in the second 45 minutes. He was powerless against Solet’s devastating effort but pulled off a stunning save to thwart Lucca’s header.

Benjamin Pavard – 6

The Frenchman’s form wobbles continued as he seemed rusty and out of steam, often struggling in one-on-one duels with Lucca.

Francesco Acerbi – 6.5

Unlike Pavard, Acerbi fared well against the towering striker until the 75th minute when he slipped his mark, only for Sommer to bail him out with a fantastic save.

Carlos Augusto – 6.5

Slotted in for Alessandro Bastoni in the back three, Augusto delivered another reassuring performance after scoring in a 2-0 win at Atalanta last time out.

Federico Dimarco – 8

Back to the starting line-up after a month-long spell on the sidelines, the prolific left-back delivered two first-half assists and nearly scored himself midway through the second half with a superb long-range effort.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6

Despite offering little in the final third, the Armenian veteran held up his end of the bargain in the build-up phase, never giving away possession while combining well with his teammates.

Hakan Calhanoglu – 6.5

With his midfield teammates doing most of the heavy lifting, the Turkish star had an easier part of the job as he only had to distribute the ball around the pitch with trademark precision and purpose.

Davide Frattesi – 7

Handed a rare chance to start ahead of Nicolo Barella, Frattesi worked his socks off this evening, showing he could still be an attacking menace with a lethal finish to double Inter’s lead.

Matteo Darmian – 6

The aging wingback proved to Inzaghi that he’s worthy of the Inter shirt, defying recent injury struggles to replace Denzel Dumfries on the right before switching to the left after Dimarco’s withdrawal.

Marcus Thuram – 6

The French striker had a quiet evening by his high standard as he never put Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye to the test.

Marko Arnautovic – 7

There was nothing much Inter could’ve expected from the 35-year-old striker. He scored from the only chance that came his way to open the scoring.

Substitutes

Joaquin Correa – 4

Yann Bisseck – 6

Nicolo Barella – 5.5