Inter struggled to get anything going against Napoli on Sunday evening, Football Italia rates the two teams.
Words: Edo Dalmonte
Inter
Samir Handanovic: 7
The star of the show, which says a lot about how Inter played. Did extremely well to palm away a deflected Dries Mertens effort while the rest of the defence were busy scratching their heads. Came off his line well to counter the Belgian, too.
Danilo D’Ambrosio: 6
Inter struggled to get anything going against Napoli on Sunday evening, Football Italia rates the two teams.
Words: Edo Dalmonte
Inter
Samir Handanovic: 7
The star of the show, which says a lot about how Inter played. Did extremely well to palm away a deflected Dries Mertens effort while the rest of the defence were busy scratching their heads. Came off his line well to counter the Belgian, too.
Danilo D’Ambrosio: 6
At least the former Torino man tried to make a difference going forward, though he probably couldn't out-run even his own kids by now. Did very well not to stick a leg out when Lorenzo Insigne was trying to dazzle him.
Jeison Murillo: 6
Lost Mertens on occasion but showed plenty of fight. Needed to close down Napoli's attacks quicker, especially when all it takes is a one-two to send someone behind the defence. Made up for it with his physical approach, going off after spending an hour with his head bandaged.
Gary Medel: 5
Botched a clearance or two, but fought hard to make up for it. Then again, there's only so much grit can do when Napoli's trio are dancing around, making it look like they were roasting him on the spit.
Yuto Nagatomo: 3
A horror show. You know the guy you used to call up at the last minute to complete a Sunday league line-up? The one you stuck out on the wing where he could do the least damage? That's Nagatomo. With one, crucial difference.
Marcelo Brozovic: 4
Awful. Completely out of his depth. Kept missing easy passes. If Chelsea offer €30m for him in the summer, Inter should take the money and laugh their way to the bank.
Roberto Gagliardini: 5
Needs to remember to track his man, and tends to keep the ball too long, costing some big turnovers. Still looked more composed than Brozovic. Those nimble feet came in handy at the edge of the Napoli penalty area.
Antonio Candreva: 6
Inter’s second-best player, actually making clever passes in the final third. Often too concerned with pumping in ambitious crosses, the former Lazio man kept a lid on the wastefulness, trying to conjure something up with the faithful D’Ambrosio down the right.
Joao Mario: 5
Completely disappeared after a bright start. Was supposed to contribute more than Ever Banega, ironically enough. Took an awful shot from outside the box that went nowhere near Pepe Reina’s goal.
Eder: 5
Has been here for 16 months and still doesn't know where his best position is. The funny thing is that his Coaches don't either. Football at this level is tactical, and all the hustle in the world is useless if Eder is left to chase down rebounds – which he did with typical gusto. Could never really combine with Icardi after the 10th minute.
Mauro Icardi: 5
Hard to blame a man for being abandoned on a desert island. The former Barcelona product's touch was poor, however, and he was outmuscled by the Partenopei's centre-backs.
Ivan Perisic: 5
It's a good job the rumours of him starting were wrong. Let one easy pass slip past him, and was maddeningly sluggish.
Marco Andreolli: N/A
Ever Banega: N/A
Napoli
Pepe Reina: N/A
Let one ball trickle out of his hands, but gathered quickly before Icardi could get there. Could have brought a deck chair with him otherwise.
Elseid Hysaj: 6
Didn't make the most of Perisic’s absence to push forward, but looked alert when the Croatian finally did come on.
Raul Albiol: 7
Didn't put a foot wrong here, in stark contrast to some of his earlier performances. Says a lot that Icardi was often nowhere near balls that were kicked to his area.
Kalidou Koulibaly: 7
The meaty sandwich to his AFCON hangover. Quick, alert and physical, he could bring the pain when he had to, or come off his line to intercept a dangerous Candreva cross. Needed to work his diagonals better.
Faouzi Ghoulam: 6
Didn't really contribute anything going forward, and wasn't alert enough to pick up Danilo D'Ambrosio once or twice.
Amadou Diawara: 7
Could be sluggish in possession, but was otherwise ruthless patrolling in front of the box. Can be guilty of the occasional reckless tackle.
Piotr Zielinski: 7
Helped orchestrate everything Napoli were involved in, and bossed the midfield alongside Diawara with some relentless pressing. Needs to run onto one-twos better.
Marek Hamsik: 6
Slowed down in the second half after a strong start, sending an effort wide of the post. Tried an outrageous diving header on a lost cause, too.
Jose Callejon: 7
The match-winner. Knows Maurizio Sarri’s system like the back of his hand, and was always to be found at the right place at the right time. Plugged away at Nagatomo, though his dribbling wasn't quite on a par with that of his team-mates. Speaking of which…
Dries Mertens: 8
Always seemed to find the gap between Medel and Murillo. Was unlucky not to score, clipping the post and being upended by Handanovic. Seamless passing, once finding an on-rushing team-mate with a splendid backheel.
Lorenzo Insigne: 8
Mature enough that he could lay off the ball when his dribbling didn’t create an opening. Which wasn’t often, as the Nerazzurri defence came out of that game completely puzzled. He and Mertens could play street football together, so exquisitely did they constantly exchange the ball and create spaces for their team-mates. Unlucky to be denied by Handanovic.
Marko Rog: 6
Made a strong contribution coming on, even coming close to scoring.
Allan: 6
Nicely fed the ball forwards and added the kind of dynamism that Inter couldn’t get around.
Arkadiusz Milik: N/A