Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina describes how Ruslan Malinovskyi wreaked havoc for Inter in a 2-2 draw and what surprised him about the Federico Dimarco penalty.
It was an extraordinary match at San Siro, with Lautaro Martinez’s early opener, Malinovskyi and Rafael Toloi turning it around before an Edin Dzeko equaliser.
“We knew that it would be a tough game and a way for us to see how far we’ve come against the reigning champions of Italy. This showed we can have our say,” Pessina told DAZN.
Malinovskyi’s long-range shots proved a very dangerous tactic, as he scored one, created another goal and then hit the woodwork. How did he keep finding the space to get those strikes away?
“It was open right to the very end. I cannot say what we had prepared, because otherwise the coach will get cross with me, but we were trying to lower Malinovskyi to move their players out of position and that’s how we created the chances.”
Serie A | Inter 2-2 Atalanta: Drama at both ends in thriller
Inter had the chance to win it with a penalty, which Dimarco blasted against the crossbar.
“Usually Dimarco takes penalties into the bottom corner, but he went for a different shot. We had congratulated Musso for saving it, but it just hit the crossbar,” smiled Pessina, a former Verona teammate of the spot-kick taker.
Roberto Piccoli had also scored a potential winner, but it was disallowed because the ball had already gone out of play.
“With VAR now you can’t get away with anything, but we took a point away from the champions of Italy.”