Inter triumphed over Salernitana 4-0 without any problems at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Friday, February 16.
Hosting Serie A’s bottom-placed team on Friday evening, Inter was set to slightly rotate their squad (although less than anticipated) ahead of a UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash against Atlético Madrid next week. Salernitana has been struggling heavily as of late and recently fired Filippo Inzaghi to bring in new coach, Fabio Liverani.
Inter lined up as follows (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, de Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Thuram, Lautaro Martínez.
Salernitana lined up as follows (3-4-2-1): Ochoa; Pasalidis, Boateng, Pellegrino; Sambia, Coulibaly, Bašić, Zanoli; Candreva, Dia; Tchaouna.
Only three minutes into the match, Inter already had a chance to score. Alessandro Bastoni’s head met Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s corner and Ochoa made a fantastic save. Marcus Thuram met his parry and looked for an easy tap-in, but hit the post from close range and the Mexican goalkeeper was able to collect.
In the sixth minute of play, Salernitana was caught out by an outstanding long ball over the top from Alessandro Bastoni to Nicolò Barella. The midfielder was in behind the line and one-on-one with Ochoa, but the goalkeeper made an outstanding save on Barella’s volley to deflect the shot onto the crossbar and out.
After a fury of attacks in the opening minutes, Inter finally found their breakthrough in the 17th minute. Carlos Augusto made a fantastic run up the left wing, beating two Salernitana players in the process. The Brazilian international made it all the way to the byline before sending a ball into the box, where Marcus Thuram met it and smashed the ball first-time into the back of the net. Thuram now has ten Serie A goals this season!
Just over a minute later, Inter doubled their lead. Carlos Augusto again with the assist by thinking quickly to take a throw-in while Saneritana was not prepared. Lautaro Martínez had some free space to drive towards the 18-yard box, cutting in from the left and slotting home in the bottom right corner. A fantastic goal to mark his 20th of the season and cement himself at eighth in the all-time Inter goalscorers list.
Towards the end of the first half in the 40th minute, Inter increased their advantage yet again. The hosts won possession in the middle of the park. Nicolò Barella took the ball to the byline and cut it back. His pass deflected off a Salernitana defender and Ochoa was not ready for it. The goalkeeper spilled the ball wide and Denzel Dumfries was ready for an easy tap-in!
The second half was full of more Inter chances as the Nerazzurri dominated the match in possession and shots, but Ochoa put on a masterclass to deny Inter from extending their lead any further. In the 77th minute, Nicolò Barella spotted substitute Marko Arnautović making a run in behind and picked him out. The Austrian forward slotted past Ochoa but swiftly noticed that the official’s flag was up and the goal did not stand.
In the last kick of the match, Denzel Dumfries powered up the right side and glided past his man. Putting a ball into the box, Marko Arnautović was there for an easy tap-in to redeem himself for his earlier offside goal. With that, the referee blew for full-time.
Following a stress-free performance, here is how we have rated Inter’s individual performances.
Player Ratings
Yann Sommer – 6
Had nothing to do…literally. Salernitana had one shot all match and it wasn’t on target. Yann Sommer continues to increase his clean-sheet tally for the season.
Benjamin Pavard – 7
Class performance. Completed around 95% of all of his passes and was heavily involved in the build-up all match. Even attempted a bicycle kick that wasn’t far off towards the end of the match.
Stefan de Vrij – 6.5
Had two great opportunities to score from a header but was denied both times by great saves from Ochoa. Won 100% of his duels.
Alessandro Bastoni – 7.5
Vintage Bastoni performance. Displayed his incredible range of passing. Set up Barella perfectly in the first half with an amazing cross-pitch long ball.
Denzel Dumfries – 8
Returned to the starting lineup in quite some fashion, picking up a goal and an assist. Caused problems for Salernitana’s left-hand side throughout the entire match.
Nicolò Barella – 6.5
Got over-excited in a one-on-one with Ochoa and should have placed the ball instead of smashing it on the volley. Otherwise, lively all over the pitch and contributed well.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 7.5
96% pass completion accuracy, created EIGHT chances, 10/10 accurate long balls…but the stats don’t do justice. Nearly perfect performance- a goal contribution would have been the cherry on top.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6
His usual self today, always involved in the build-up and making things happen for his teammates.
Carlos Augusto – 8
Two assists in a matter of minutes to break the deadlock after countless chances in the opening minutes of the match. Fantastic run to beat two defenders on his first assist and smart thinking to take a throw-in quickly on the second. Great performance.
Marcus Thuram – 7
Missed a golden chance in the first minutes of the match but made up for it later in the first half by opening the scoring. Ten league goals in his first season in Italy with Inter…for free.
Lautaro Martínez (C) – 7
Squandered a big chance early, then scored an incredible goal from outside of the box. With twenty league goals this season, Lautaro is on a whole new level.
Substitutes
Alexis Sánchez – 6
A few touches here and there but not very involved otherwise.
Marko Arnautović – 7
Good in the build-up and had chances. Scored a goal that was ruled back for offside, came back and scored one that counted!
Davy Klaassen – 6
Involved in the midfield and did well to move the ball.
Kristjan Asllani – 6.5
Usual performance. Good passing, showed his signature long balls and won key duels.
Tajon Buchanan – 6.5
Made his long-awaited debut. With his first touch of the ball, he immediately went to take on his man and nearly won a penalty. Showed the type of player he was, with stepovers reminiscent of Ivan Perišić.
