Inter began their Europa League campaign with a well earned 1-0 win over Dnipro at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev on Thursday evening.
The Nerazzurri started slowly and struggled to break down a stubborn Dnipro defence, wing back Danilo D’Ambrosio eventually broke the deadlock, poking the ball under the advancing goalkeepers legs.
The Ukraine Premier League outfit tamed the Mazzarri’s troops for most of the match, but never really threatened to cause problems of their own with the exception of a dangerous first half Konoplyanka shot.
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Dnipro
Denys Boyko – 7 – Strong
Fantastic double save from Danilo D’Ambrosio and Mauro Icardi to keep the game scoreless just before the hour. Left exposed for the only goal.
Ondrej Mazuch – 5 – Frustrated
The Czech Republic international struggled to deal with Inter’s movement and won’t remember this one too fondly.
Ivan Strinic – 6 – Mixed
Booked for revenge on Kuzmanovic after the two clashed in the first half, looked lively when in attacking positions.
Douglas – 6 – Involved
One of Dnipro’s better performers, the Brazilian kept going until the end with little reward.
Artem Fedetskiy – 5 – Wasteful
Looked limited in possession. Failed to make an impact despite early signs.
Serhiy Kravchenko – 5 – Limited
Replaced by Yevhen Shakhov, failed to make any impact on the game.
Jaba Kankava – 6 – Stable
The Georgian worked tirelessly with little reward. Quietly went about his business.
Bruno Gama – 5 – Poor
The Portuguese striker scored 3 goals at weekend during a 5-2 win at Metalist, never troubled Inter in lacklustre display.
Ruslan Rotan – 6 – Unlucky
Booked for studs up challenge on Guarin which may have warranted a red card, subsequently sent off for a questionable second booking.
Yevhen Konoplyanka – 7 – Tricky
First minute shot indicated Dnipro’s star man was in the zone, always a threat but lacked any real quilty from his team mates.
Roman Zozulya – 5 – Frustrated
Booked for a trailing arm on M’Vila leaving the Frenchman with a bloodied mouth. A day to forget for the Ukrainian striker.
Substitutes
Yevhen Shakhov – N/A
Valeriy Luchkevych – N/A
Nikola Kalinic – N/A
Inter
Samir Handanovic – 7 – Reliable
Important first minute save from Konoplyanka’s fierce drive. Inter’s goalkeeper didn’t have an awful lot to deal with thereafter.
Hugo Campagnaro – 6 – Comfortable
The Argentine defender looked at ease all evening, dealing with everything sent his way.
Nemanja Vidic – 7 – Solid
Formed a solid defensive trio alongside Juan Jesus and Hugo Campagnaro.
Juan Jesus – 7 – Adventurous
The Brazilian defender carried the ball out of defence on numerous occasions, addend to the 23 year old’s growing reputation.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 8 – Storming
Struggled to deal with the tricky Konoplyanka early on. Recovered well and opened the scoring on 70 minutes with a neat finish past Boyko.
Yann M’Vila – 6 – Mixed
M’Vila spent the evening going through the motions in Kiev, nothing extraordinary but a solid showing.
Zdravko Kuzmanovic – 5 – Laboured
Booked for halting Konoplyanka’s counter attack in the first half, headed over just before half time. Replaced by Pablo Osvaldo on the hour mark.
Hernanes – 8 – Controlling
The 29-year-old holding midfielder impressed, dictating the midfield and was always available for his team mates.
Dodô – 7 – Effective
Tenacious in the tackle, the former Roma player ventured forward at every opportunity and looked at ease for large periods of the game.
Fredy Guarín – 6 – Positive
Should have done better with a looping header early into the second half, the Colombian will be happy with his first start of the campaign.
Mauro Icardi – 6 – Quiet
The Argentine striker failed to hit the heights of last weekend’s hat-tick during the 7-0 dismantling of Sassuolo.
Substitutes
Pablo Osvaldo – 5 – Cameo
Some neat touches from the Italian international after replacing Kuzmanovic after an hour.
Jonathan – N/A
Replaced Hernanes late in the second half.
