Wednesday night saw Inter and Shakhtar Donetsk battle it out on a wet evening at San Siro in the Champions League. Before the game, both sides could have potentially progressed through into the knockout stages of the competition…that is before a 0-0 stalemate saw them both dumped out.
After a dominant first half from Inter, the game was on a knife edge. With Real Madrid 2-0 up at half time against Borussia Monchengladbach in the other game in the group, both teams knew that a win for either of them would see them progress as long as Madrid won.
Inter remained on top and had the lion share of possession, but with very little to show for it. Neither team were able to carve out any real clear cut chances, with Inter coming closest from substitute Alexis Sanchez’s goal bound header that Romelu Lukaku blocked, standing five yards out.
With Real Madrid and Inter the initial favourites to get out of the group, Antonio Conte will be bitterly disappointed that his team did not do enough over the six matches to progress. In drawing on Wednesday evening, Inter finished last in the group so do not even get the consolation of a Europa League spot.
Here’s how they rated in the war of attrition…
Samir Handanovic (GK) – 7/10 – Made a couple of excellent saves, and was always alert when called upon.
Milan Skriniar (CB) – 7/10 – Led by example at the back with some fantastic defending and drove forward well when allowed to.
Stefan de Vrij (CB) – 6/10 – Calm defending when it mattered most during Shakhtar’s period of sustained pressure.
Alessandro Bastoni (CB) – 7/10 – Given Inter’s dominance he was able to push higher up the pitch and play almost as a roaming left back at times.
Achraf Hakimi (RWB) – 6/10 – Lively down the right hand side, and always a willing runner. Booked.
Nicolo Barella (CM) – 6/10 – Solid performance from the 23-year-old Italian as Inter controlled the midfield on the whole.
Marcelo Brozovic (CM) – 6/10 – Tireless runner in midfield. Unlucky with a shot from the edge of the box which deflected wide.
Roberto Gagliardini (CM) – 5/10 – Neat and tidy before being subbed for the more attack-minded Alexis Sanchez. Booked.
Ashley Young (LWB) – 4/10 – Gave the ball away cheaply on several occasions in promising areas. Unsurprisingly the first to get hooked off by Conte. Questionable decision that he was given the nod over Perisic.
Romelu Lukaku (ST) – 6/10 – Comical block of his own team’s header late on…but had a decent game other than that…not that that matters to meme creators across social media.
Lautaro Martinez (ST) – 5/10 – Saw a good effort crash back off the bar early on. Spurned a few half chances with a header and left foot snap shot, but nothing clear cut created.
Ivan Perisic – 5/10 – Kept the ball moving well down the left hand side. Better than Young and offered more natural width with his left foot. Should have started the match in his place.
Alexis Sanchez – 6/10 – Looked like he’d won it in the dying embers with a header from a corner – before Lukaku blocked it four yards out from goal.
Christian Eriksen – 5/10 – One of the Conte’s three in a triple substitution five minutes from time. A few nice set piece deliveries and strike from the edge of the box tested Trubin.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 5/10 – Not long enough on the pitch to have an impact.
Matteo Darmian – 5/10 – Conte made changes too late, limiting his impact.