In true ‘Pazza Inter’ fashion, Inter were able to overcome Hellas Verona in a 2-1 win to mark the beginning of 2024.

Inter hosted 17th-placed Hellas Verona on Saturday, January 6 in the Nerazzurri’s first match of 2024. These days, every match is proving to be crucial and a must-win, as Juventus remain just 2 points behind the league leaders. Despite their poor league record this season, Hellas Verona have proven to be a tricky opponent, beating Roma, drawing Bologna and Lazio, and suffering narrow 1-0  defeats to AC Milan and Juventus.

Inter lined up as follows (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Thuram, Lautaro.

Hellas Verona lined up as follows (4-2-3-1): Montipò; Tchatchoua, Magnani, Coppola, Doig; Duda, Folorunsho; Ngonge, Suslov, Mboula; Đurić.

Yann Sommer was called into action in just the 3rd minute as Verona’s Cyril Ngonge received the ball on the right, was able to slip past Alessandro Bastoni and out a ball in the box to Tomas Suslov. Sommer made a great save and prevented an early lead for the hosts.

10 minutes later, Marcus Thuram held up the ball nicely, laid it off for Henrikh Mkhitaryan who bursted into the Hellas Verona box. Lautaro Martínez was waiting for the pass and opened his 2024 account! A brilliant, calm finish from the captain.

In the 25th minute, Verona fullback Jackson Tchatchoua put in another great ball that fell perfectly to the head of Verona captain Milan Ðurić, but gave the ball straight to Yann Sommer. An opportunity that probably should have been a goal- but another good save from the Inter goalkeeper.

2 minutes into the second half, Henrikh Mkhitaryan launched a ball into the Hellas Verona box, to which Francesco Acerbi got a head and knocked it down for Lautaro Martínez to slot home. The linesman had their flag up and the goal was ruled out for an offside on Francesco Acerbi.

Inter looked sloppy in the second half all the way until minute 74. Verona’s Ondrej Duda played a cross into the box which was clipped by substitute Thomas Henry, who was able to get a touch and redirect the ball into the net. The hosts had capitalized on a poor Inter and equalized with just 15 minutes remaining.

Inter looked sloppy in the second half all the way until minute 74. Verona’s Ondrej Duda played a cross into the box which was clipped by substitute Thomas Henry, who was able to get a touch and redirect the ball into the net. The hosts had capitalized on a poor Inter and equalized with just 15 minutes remaining.

Again, Marko Arnautović was unable to capitalize on another opportunity in the 2nd minute of added time- failing to get his header on target while being nearly 2 yards away from the goal.

In the 93rd minute of play, Alessandro Bastoni’s shot thumped off the crossbar. The ball landed at the feet of Nicolò Barella who hit it first-time into the path of the Verona goalkeeper and directly to the feet of Davide Frattesi to easily tap in!

The match wasn’t over though, and in the 9th minute of additional time, Hellas Verona were awarded a penalty after VAR saw Matteo Darmian commit a foul in the box just seconds earlier. Thomas Henry stepped up and despite sending Yann Sommer the wrong way, the French forward hit the post!

Through a rollercoaster of a match, here is how we have rated Inter’s performers today.

Player Ratings

Yann Sommer – 6.5

Made some important saves in the beginning of the match. Could not do much about Verona’s goal and got lucky on the penalty.

Benjamin Pavard – 6.5

Yann Bisseck has been great, but Pavard shows why Inter spent what they did on him in the summer. Absolutely solid in the back and amazing going forward.

Francesco Acerbi – 6

Solid match, created one big chance to potentially win the match for Inter but nothing came of it. Good defensive performance.

Alessandro Bastoni – 6.5

Had a shaky start to the match, dealing with Verona forward Cyril Ngonge, but grew into the match. Was on point with his passing and often created chances going forward.

Denzel Dumfries – 5

Seemed to pick up a slight knock in the beginning of the match and it showed for the remainder.

Nicolò Barella- 6

Seemed to be everywhere on the pitch and was very involved. Assisted in creating Inter’s second goal with a shot that was rebounded for Davide Frattesi to tap-in. Shouldn’t have passed to Alexis Sánchez on a breakaway after Inter had scored but luckily it didn’t come back to haunt him.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 6

Solid today but not at the level he can play at. Had a few decent opportunities with one particularly good shot that he should have done better on.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7

That renewal until 2026 continues to look more and more deserved. Turned back the clock to his Dortmund days with a brilliant assist for Lautaro Martínez to open the score in the first half.

Carlos Augusto – 5

Had an off day today. Consistently mis-hit crosses and was unable to create proper chances for his forwards.

Marcus Thuram – 7

Continues to shine and be an incredible bargain on a free transfer. Created so many problems for the Verona defence and was unlucky not to score.

Lautaro Martínez (C) – 7.5

Back from injury and of course he’s on the score sheet, scoring Inter’s first goal of 2024. Had another goal ruled out for offside and even set up a few chances for others.

Substitutes

Matteo Darmian – 6

Decent performance, always working hard but doesn’t offer enough going forward anymore as a wing-back. 

Federico Dimarco – 6

Offered more than Carlos Augusto did. Was solid defensively and created 2 chances.

Marko Arnautović – 3

Nightmare performance. Lost the ball that led to Verona’s goal, blocked a potential Inter goal minutes later and then missed a big chance to give Inter the lead.

Davide Frattesi – 7

Won the game for Inter by being in the right place at the right time. Very clutch player and a deserved goal for a player who is finding it hard to get minutes in a dominant Inter midfield.

Alexis Sánchez – 5

Between him and Nicolò Barella, had an open-net counter attack that did not result in a goal. Only played for around 10 minutes with 5 touches of the ball.