Inter continue their dominant 2024 form with their 11th straight victory, and fourth straight four goal scoring fest in league play

When this match was rescheduled last December because of the Supercoppa (from mid-January to end of February), it was seen as a potential trap game as Inter was battling with Juventus for Serie A leadership. Instead, Inter came into the game with the ability to extend its table leadership to 12 points and they did not disappoint. After a sluggish first 15 minutes, the Nerazzuri dominated and clearly demonstrated they are not only the best team in Italy, but one of the top clubs in Europe.

Inter lined up as follows (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, de Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian (46′ Dumfries), Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan (62′ Frattesi, 73′ Klaassen), Dimarco (69′ Augusto); Arnautović, Martínez (68′ Sánchez) .

Atalanta lined up as follows (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Scalvini (58′ Hien), Djimsiti, Kolasinac (58′ Bakker); Hateboer, Ederson, Pasalic, Zappacosta;  Koopmeiners (57′ Adopo); Miranchuk (57′ Lookman),De Ketelaere (76′ Touré).

First Half

An entertaining first half started with Atalanta pressing Inter high up the pitch and it looked like their efforts paid off in the tenth minute as a poor pass from Pavard found its way to Koopmeiners, whose shot on target was saved by Sommer. The deflection went to Miranchuk and Bastoni and the ball bounced off them and reached De Ketelaere who shot through Pavard’s legs and scored. However, VAR saw that the bounce to De Ketelaere was aided by the arm of Miranchuk, so the goal was disallowed.

After this scare, Inter started to find its footing and the Nerazzuri’s first attempt was from Asllani who shot wide in the 17th minute. This started an onslaught by the home team, with Bastoni finding Barella for a goal in the 19th minute (unfortunately Barella’s run was a bit early so he was offside). In the 25th minute Bastoni found Lautaro with a beautiful cross that Lautaro hit into the second tier of the Meazza.

Inter broke the deadlock in the 26th minute as Lautaro passed to Mkhitaryan but Carnesecchi got to the ball first, mishandling his save and allowing the ball to roll to Darmian who hit the target from the edge of the box. After Inter’s goal, the team started dominating, with Darmian nearly doubling in the 29th minute (his shot was right at Carnesecchi) and Lautaro hitting the cross bar in the 40th minute with a rocket of a shot from the edge of the box. Inter’s aggression paid off in minute 45+1 as Dimarco challenged Carnesecchi for a ball on the right edge of the box. Carnesecchi got there first but only pushed the ball to the side. Dimarco quickly gets to the ball, passes to Pavard who passes to Lautaro. Lautaro spins to the left and scores a beautiful goal with his weaker foot. Halftime score 2 – 0!

Inter dominated the first half with 62% possession and nine shots to Atalanta’s three.

Second Half

The second half started with some sloppy play almost allowing La Dea back into the game. Poor passes from the backline including a disastrous one from Sommer right to Miranchuk. However, the defense quickly recovered and Atalanta was not even able to take a shot on goal. After this mental lapse, Inter got back on track with long balls in the 47th and 48th minutes. The second was a perfect pass from Lautaro to Dimarco and his shot was saved by Carnesecchi for an Inter corner.

This corner led to confusion resulting in Inter’s third goal. The rebound in the corner was close to being out (the linesman raised his flag), but replay showed it stayed in. Dumfries crossed the ball and it hit Hateboer’s outstretched arm. No one protested but VAR once again interviewed and after review, Inter was awarded a penalty. Lautaro’s kick was saved by Carnesecchi, but Dimarco was first to the rebound and slotted in the third goal.

In the 57th minute, it seemed Gasperini called game with a quadruple substitution probably thinking of resting some of his star players for their upcoming match against Bologna this weekend. Inter kept attacking and in the 71st minute the Nerazzuri scored their fourth goal. A perfect free kick from Alexis Sánchez reached Frattesi whose header went into the back of the net. This was a bittersweet goal, however, as Frattesi signaled to the bench to be substituted as he picked up a knock that will be monitored in the coming days. 

Here are our Inter player ratings following another dominant win!

Player Ratings

Yann Sommer – 6

Made a crucial save in the tenth minute denying Atalanta the opening goal. It was his only save of the game. His passing was very good, except at the start of the second half when his errant pass almost cost him his clean sheet.

Benjamin Pavard – 7.5

Outside of his errant pass in the tenth minute that resulted in Sommer’s only save of the match, Benjamin was outstanding both offensively (connecting on 43 of 45 passes) and defensively (four tackles, one interception, one blocked shot).

Stefan de Vrij – 7.5

Rock solid defensively, not giving up any shots to the Atalanta strikers. Offensively, he connected on 66 of his 69 passes (96%).

Alessandro Bastoni – 8

Outstanding both on defense and attack, leading the team with 99 touches. His long balls are masterful and he times his forward runs perfectly. 

Matteo Darmian – 7.5

Scored his first goal of the season and should have had a second, but the latter went straight to Carnesecchi. Matteo was all over the pitch today, contributing both offensively and defensively (three clearances, two tackles and an interception).

Nicolò Barella – 7

A strong match for Nicolò, as he was very active on both the attacking and defending front. Unfortunately he mis-timed his run in the 19th minute or he would have been on the score sheet.

Kristjan Asllani – 8

Another outstanding performance filling in for Çalhanoğlu. Controlled the game as regista and connected on 75 of his 77 passes (97%), including five of seven long balls. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7

The ageless Mkhitaryan had an assist and was very active offensively. Timed many of his runs perfectly, opening up spaces for his teammates.

Federico Dimarco – 7.5

Scored a goal by being alert (and quick) on the rebound from Lautaro’s penalty. Was very active both offensively and defensively.

After two consecutive games where Marko was a difference maker, this was a very pedestrian performance. Marko had no shots in the game and did not cause many issues for the Atalanta defense.

Lautaro Martínez (C) – 7.5

Lautaro scored his 23rd goal of the season and was all over the pitch, providing some great passes and being very active on defense. His weakness seems to be penalties right now. Should Inzaghi find a new deputy to take penalties if Çalhanoğlu is not on the pitch?

Substitutes

Denzel Dumfries – 6.5

A strong performance for Denzel, coming on at half-time. His speed caused Atalanta trouble in the second half and his cross led to the Inter penalty.

Davide Frattesi – 7.5

While he was only on the pitch for 11 minutes, Davide made a positive impact. He scored a beautiful header for Inter’s fourth goal, but was quickly substituted off due to injury. Hopefully, it is not serious.

Alexis Sánchez – 7.5

A strong substitute appearance from Alexis, with an assist, great passing (93% success), lots of effective dribbling and strong defensive work. These past two matches show that he should get more minutes during the final stretch of the campaign.

Carlos Augusto – 6.5

Carlos had some nice attacking runs and some defensive stops in his 21 minutes on the pitch. 

Davy Klaassen– 6.5

Came on to close out the match once Frattesi was injured. Was nine for nine on his passing and had one interception.