Inter cruise to the Supercoppa final with an extremely convincing win against Lazio in Riyadh
2024 has gotten off to an excellent start for Inter Milan. In three matches, they have outscored their opponents 10 – 2 (one conceded goal being from a penalty), having outshot their competition 58 – 22. On paper, this Supercoppa semifinal was to be the most difficult of these three matches. However, as the master of cup games, Inzaghi had his team well prepared, and they delivered a beautiful display with Lazio never being in the match.
Inter lined up as follows (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi (66′ de Vrij), Bastoni; Darmian, Barella (66′ Frattesi), Çalhanoğlu (81′ Asllani), Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram (74′ Sánchez), Lautaro (74′ Arnautović).
Lazio lined up as follows (4-3-3): Provodel; Lazzari (83′ Hysaj), Gila, Romagnoli, Marušić (66′ Pellegrini); Guendouzi (51′ Luis Alberto), Rovella (51′ Cataldi), Vecino; Felipe Anderson, Immobile, Pedro (66′ Isaksen).
First Half
A very impressive, dominant Inter in the first half kept Lazio on their heels for 45 minutes. With 64% possession and 14 shots (versus 2), Inter took control, with Lazio barely reaching their penalty box (Lazio’s two off-target shots in the first half were from outside the box). How Inter went into the break, not up by at least three goals, was shocking.
The Nerazzuri assault started immediately, with four opportunities in the first 10 minutes: Barella, Thuram, and Bastoni shooting high, and a powerful Thuram header being deflected wide for a corner. The offensive continued, and finally, in the 17th minute, Inter took a well-deserved lead on a beautiful team goal. Darmian crosses the ball to Dimarco, who passes it to Barella, who passes it to Bastoni, who places a nice low cross into the box that Dimarco backheels to Thuram for an easy tap-in.
Inter continued dominating the rest of the first half, controlling possession and continuing their barrage of shots in an effort to double their lead. The three most notable attacks after the goal were: (1) Lautaro’s shot in the 33rd minute that was saved by Providel, and as Thuram rushed in for the rebound the goalkeeper dove to push the ball out for a corner; (2) Barella’s shot in the 36th minute that hit the crossbar; and (3) a Romagnoli clearance off the line in the 45th minute.
Second Half
Inter’s domination continued after the break. In the 47th minute, Lautaro was fouled in the box but was waived up by the referee. VAR intervened, and the replay showed a clear foul by Pedro on the Inter striker. With ice in his veins, Çalhanoğlu calmly rifled a shot in the corner, beating a diving Provadel. Inter’s attack continued, and in the 52nd minute, Lautaro was denied by the crossbar from a powerful shot from near the penalty spot. Lazio’s only sign of life lasted a few minutes after Inter hit the woodwork, but every attempt was blocked by the Inter defenders (Sommer faced no shots on target the whole match).
Both teams made several substitutions, and while the tempo slowed down, Inter kept being more dangerous. While sitting deeper, a poor pass from Luis Alberto enabled Inter to score their third goal. The Lazio pass was intercepted by Sánchez, who played the ball long to Mkhitaryan, who crossed it to an open Frattesi, who slotted the ball past Provadel for his fourth goal in a Nerazzuri jersey.
Here are our Inter player ratings following another dominant win!
Player Ratings
Yann Sommer – no rating
Could have brought a lounge chair and book, as he did not face any shots on target the whole match. Did have 52 touches, but mostly from back passes from his defenders and midfielders.
Benjamin Pavard – 7
Did not give Pedro any chances, as he dominated his side of the pitch. Was third on the team with 88 touches and had a 92% pass success rate.
Francesco Acerbi – 7.5
Kept Immobile in check all match, and was second on the team with 91 touches. Francesco connected on 86 of his 88 passes (98%).
Alessandro Bastoni – 7.5
Outstanding both on defense and attack. His cross into the box led to Inter’s first goal and his passing was outstanding (93% success rate). Did a very good job neutralizing the tricky Felipe Anderson.
Matteo Darmian – 6.5
Solid defensively and it was his pass across the field to Dimarco that led to Inter’s first goal. However, his shooting was poor and lost possession nine times.
Nicolò Barella – 7
A strong match for Nicolò, as he was very active on both the attacking and defending front. Should have scored but his shot went off the crossbar.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 8
Continued his great form and scored another penalty. Hakan led the team with 93 touches and had a 92% pass success rate.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7.5
The ageless Mkhitaryan had another masterful game. Did everything today, from defensive contributions, to interceptions, to leading counter-attacks and got an assist on Inter’s third goal.
Federico Dimarco – 7.5
What a back heel for the assist on the opening goal! It seemed that most of Inter’s dangerous attacks originated from Federico. Inter is much more dangerous when Dimarco is playing.
Marcus Thuram – 8
Not only did Marcus score, but he was a major contributor in many of the build up plays. On a brighter day, he could have scored multiple goals.
Lautaro Martínez (C) – 7
A quiet match for Lautaro’s based on recent performances but he did not play poorly. Contributed a lot in build up play, and was unlucky not to score as his shot went off the crossbar.
Substitutes
Davide Frattesi – 7.5
While he only had 15 touches, Davide made the most of them. Not only did he score the final goal, but he connected on all nine of his passes.
Kristjan Asllani – 7
Like Frattesi, Kristjan did not have many touches (just 12). But he had 11 passes and they were all accurate and was able to break-up plays defensively.
Stefan de Vrij – 5.5
Seemed a little off his game today, as the only times Immobile threatened was when Stefan entered the pitch to replace Acerbi.
Alexis Sánchez – 6
Asserted himself into the match with 16 touches (pretty high for a striker that came on in the 74th minute). His passing was good (11 out of 12) and it was his pass to Mkhitaryan that led to Inter’s final goal.
Marko Arnautović – N/A
Was barely present on the field with just four touches. It has not been a good season for Marko.
To be honest: I think apart from a handful of games, this is what we’ve been playing all season. We’ve played some of the best football I’ve ever watched, since my romantic affair with this team back in 88/89.
And that is why I simply can’t comprehend how those prison stripes is right on our tale. Having watched them a few times now, I really can’t believe. It is still such a mystery equaling how the earth came around. I simply can’t fathom it. We should at least have been 10 points ahead if one looks at play, all statistics(and I mean all), and our setup.
Well, we just need to keep focusing on ourselves, we can’t do anything about other disgusting teams.
But it is certainly an enjoyment to watch Inter this season.
Mondays match may be a preview of the forthcoming match in March, that me and my 14 old son are going to watch. Last time(the only time) I was at The Meazza we became champions that year.
Here is hoping for that history to repeat itself🖤💙
Just caught up to the match. I knew the score going in, but holy hell: Lazio were actually extremely lucky to only concede three goals. Some of the prettiest attacking moves I’ve seen from this team in a while. Wild stuff. I’m honestly annoyed we put up this kind of performance in a tournament that means so little.
And to think I predicted a cagey 1-0 kinda game. Wow! An absolute master class today, Inzaghiball at its finest.
That whole team move resulting in Barella’s volley on to the crossbar was so sublime. *Chef’s kiss* and there were so many of those plays all game long.
I’m glad Frattesi has kept his focus up and continued to contribute even off the bench in many games. It’s not easy being the hotshot young midfielder that the whole nation and all its top clubs admire, and then having to sit on the bench for most games. But he hasn’t let that dampen his spirit, and has clearly had an impact all through the season.
Here’s to continuing this performance and pocketing that €8M prize money…
Spectacular INTER, it was like watching a clinic teaching how to do everything without any flaws. I take both Wing-Backs as most valuable players, Darmian and Dimarco, Double D.