Football

Inter Milan vs AC Milan Player Ratings: Late Martinez Strike Seals the Victory for Inter

May 16, 2023 10:45 pm
Inter Milan vs AC Milan Player Ratings: Late Martinez Strike Seals the Victory for Inter
Foto IPP/Paolo Bona Milano 16/05/2023 UEFA Champions League di Calcio stagione 2022/2023 Inter-Milan semifinale partita di ritorno Nella foto Lautaro Martinez esulta dopo il gol del 1-0 sotto la tribuna di tifosi Italy Photo Press Worldwide Copyright Photo by Icon Sport

  • Inter Milan are through to the Champions League final after defeating AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate.
  • The damage was done in the first leg, but a Martinez strike late on in the San Siro put the icing on top of the cake.
  • Inter will now face the winners of Manchester and Real Madrid in the final on June 10th in Istanbul.

Inter Milan Player Ratings: Defence wins the tie for Nerazzurri

Andre Onana 7/10 – Made a nice save against Diaz early on and dealt with everything else with minimal fuss. His distribution was top-tier.

Matteo Darmian 7/10 – Rock solid throughout both ties.

Francesco Acerbi 7/10 – Led the defence superbly well and his experience shone through.

Alessandro Bastoni 7/10 – Defended the penalty area as if his life depended on it.

Denzel Dumfries 8/10 – Looks like one of the most accomplished wing-backs in the game. Got forward to support the attack well while also being defensively sound.

Federico Dimarco 7/10 – Didn’t venture forward as much as Dumfries but dealt with Leao well on the left flank.

Henrik Mkhitaryan 6/10 – Came off with a knock in the first half but didn’t do much with his time on the pitch.

Hakan Calhanoglu 7/10 – Got about the pitch nicely and applied pressure on the AC Milan midfielders.

Nicolo Barella 6/10 – His game is more about his driving runs forward, something he wasn’t able to showcase on the night. Still, a solid enough display.

Edin Dzeko 7/10 – The ball certainly stuck when it went up to the 37-year-old and he helped to relieve early pressure.

Lautaro Martinez 8/10 – A real bright spark in this Inter team and the one player who looked like he is able to produce a bit of magic out of nothing. Took his goal really nicely, slotting it in at the near post.

Substitutes

Marcelo Brozovic 7/10 – Was more suited to the game than Mkhitaryan, and put in a tireless display in midfield.

Romelu Lukaku 7/10 – The best Lukaku has looked in a long time. He stretched the AC Milan defence on the counter-attack and set up the winner. Whether he remains at the club next season remains a question on everybody’s lips.

Robin Gosens 6/10 – Slotted in at the back nicely when he came on. Didn’t put a foot wrong.

Roberto Gagliardini 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Joaquin Correa 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

AC Milan Player Ratings: The Rossoneri go out with a whimper

Mike Maignan 5/10 – Will be disappointed to have been beaten at his near post. Had a few other shaky moments, too.

Davide Calabria 6/10 – Defender well enough but didn’t offer anywhere near enough of a threat going forward.

Malick Thiaw 7/10 – Looked assured at the back and dealt with Inter’s counter-attacking threat well on most occasions.

Fikayo Tomori 5/10 – Another poor display from Tomori on the big stage. Was far too rash in his challenges but he will learn from the experience.

Theo Hernandez 5/10 – Put in some disappointing crosses and was sloppy defensively.

Sandro Tonali 6/10 – Tried to get his team moving in the right direction but lacked the desired quality.

Rade Krunic 5/10 – Really poor on the ball in a game that AC Milan needed to control.

Rafael Leao 4/10 – Big things were expected of AC Milan’s star man, who is being linked with a move ot the Premier League, but he failed to deliver. Ran into trouble and his end product was poor.

Brahim Diaz 6/10 – Could have given his side an early lead but his shot was well saved by Onana. Kept trying to make things happen but just came up short.

Junior Messias 5/10 – Offered very little and can’t have any complaints about being taken off.

Olivier Giroud 5/10 – Too static up top which made Inter’s defensive work very comfortable.

Substitutes

Pierre Kalulu 6/10 – Didn’t do anything particularly wrong when he came on and couldn’t have done anything to prevent Martinez from scoring.

Alexis Saelemaekers 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Divock Origi 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Inter Milan vs AC Milan Match Summary and Highlights

In a ferocious atmosphere at the San Siro, just as it was last week in the first leg, both teams came out with a point to prove. On one side, Inter Milan knew that if they were defensively sound then a trip to Istanbul for their first Champions League final in 13 year awaited them while for AC Milan, they knew that goals were needed and preferably early ones, too.

AC Milan had a few early chances to get that early goal, firstly through Brahim Diaz when his effort was saved by Onana who was sensational throughout. Then, later on in the half, Rafael Leão spurned a great opportunity when he slid a one on one just past the post.

With the sides level at half time, many were expecting Stefano Pioli’s side to throw the kitchen sink at Inter in the second half. However, they appeared nervy throughout the second 45 minutes and you could visibly see belief draining from them. Then, in the 80th minute, Inter dealt the dagger blow through Lautaro Martínez when his left-footed strike beat Mike Maignan at the near post.

Inter will now await the winners of tomorrow’s other semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Player of the Match: Lautaro Martinez

Lautaro Martinez was awarded the Player of the Match award and rightly so. It was his goal that killed the tie and that sent Inter Milan through to the Champions League final. Aside from his goal, the Argentinian was a menace throughout and hounded the AC Milan defence all night, not allowing them to have any comfortable possession. If Inter are to win the final in June, then he is going to need to be on top form.

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