Inter opened their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night by salvaging a draw against an impressive Borussia Monchengladbach at San Siro.
Antonio Conte’s side dominated possession for much of the game but had to wait until the 49th minute for the opener, with Romelu Lukaku scrambling in from close range.
Arturo Vidal offered the visitors a route back into the game by clipping Marcus Thuram in the box, allowing Bensebaini Ramy to fire home the equaliser from the penalty spot.
Monchengladbach took the lead late in the second half when Alassane Plea picked out Jonas Hoffman, who tucked his shot through Samir Handanovic’s legs. A lengthy VAR check ensued, but the goal was eventually given.
Lukaku bagged his second in the 90th minute to salvage a draw for the Nerazzurri, bumping the ball in off his knee on the line.
Samir Handanovic (GK) – 5/10 – Couldn’t stop the penalty and got nutmegged for Hoffman’s strike in the second half.
Danilo D’Ambrosio (CB) – 5/10 – Booked and never looked entirely convincing as part of the three man defence.
Stefan de Vrij (CB) – 6/10 – The more natural centre back among the starters in defence, De Vrij was relatively solid but little more than that.
Aleksandar Kolarov (CB) – 6/10 – Started in defence but moved into a more advanced role towards the end of the game.
Matteo Darmian (RWB) – 6/10 – Replaced Achraf Hakimi, who tested positive for coronavirus before the game. Provided width on the right without looking overly threatening.
Nicolo Barella (CM) – 6/10 – Lots of lovely twists and turns from the young Italian. Just needs to be a little more efficient going forward.
Arturo Vidal (CM) – 6/10 – Played his role in Lukaku’s strike with a lovely ping into the box, but also gave away the penalty which led to Monchengladbach’s equaliser with a lazy outstretched leg. Also caught out for the visitors’ second.
Ivan Perisic (LWB) – 6/10 – Sometimes he’s brilliant, sometimes not so much. A rather middling performance from the Croatian.
Christian Eriksen (AM) – 7/10 – A few early shots that were either blocked or easily gathered by Yann Sommer. Probably one of his better games for Inter since his move in January.
Alexis Sanchez (ST) – 6/10 – A few nice bits of interplay from the former Arsenal forward, but didn’t really impress before being hooked for Lautaro Martinez.
Romelu Lukaku (ST) – 8/10 – Came close to opening the scoring after some nice link-up play with D’Ambrosio and Sanchez. Wasn’t to be denied early in the second half, firing in from close range. Earned Inter a point with his late tap-in.
Lautaro Martinez – 6/10 –
Alessandro Bastoni – 6/10
Marcelo Brozovic – 5/10