Inter beat Atalanta 4-1 in a high-tempo Serie A match on Sunday at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

After a delayed start due to confusion over a minutes silence, the game burst into life with Fredy Guarin winning a penalty after 51 seconds, duly converted by January signing Xherdan Shaqiri.

Maximiliano Moralez levelled midway into the first period for La Dea, but a classy Guarin finish put the visitors back ahead on the 37th minute. Oribici defender Yohan Benalouane was then sent off in the second-half before Guarin scored an even better effort to make it three on the 63rd minute.

Rodrigo Palacio fortuitously increased the advantage further, sealing a 4-1 win and a rare victory for the Biscione in Bergamo.

What do you make of our ratings? Leave a comment below.

Atalanta

Marco Sportiello – 5 – Helpless

Got a weak hand on Shaqiri’s penalty-kick, failing to prevent the savable effort as his clean sheet lasted about 100 seconds. Had little to no chance of stopping either of Guarin’s curling efforts.

Andrea Masiello – 6 – Competent

Not a poor performance from Masiello, but when errors were made Inter capitalised and threatened down his flank.

Guglielmo Stendardo – 5.5 – Trier

Almost equalised with a good header that flashed across the far-post, which turned out to be the high point for the veteran who tried to put in a vital slid tackle on Palacio’s one-on-one, only for the ball to go in off the striker.

Yohan Benalouane – 4.5 – Silly

Smartly intercepted a few of Inter’s through balls and was booked for a late tackle on Palacio. However, the big defender gave the referee far too much lip, receiving an immediate second yellow and severely reducing his side’s chances of getting back level.

Gianpaolo Bellini – 5 – Weak

Fouled Guarin in the first minute, clumsily felling the Colombian after being turned, and it wasn’t to get any better as the home captain looked ineffectual whenever the visitors attacked.

Davide Zappacosta – 6 – Decent

Looked threatening at times and must have thought he’d claimed an assist after showing good pace to beat Handanovic to a through ball and cross for Pinillia- who missed. It wasn’t a great cross, but it was good enough.

Luca Cigarini – 6.5 – Craft

Displayed wonderful vision throughout, the Italian’s set-pieces were also a constant threat. Less effective in defence, however.

Carlos Carmona – 5 – Bypassed

Ultimately, the Chilean’s job of marshalling the Inter midfielders failed as Guarin was able to pick out two goals from range, and plenty more opportunities came from the area under Carmona’s jurisdiction.

Alejandro Gomez – 6.5 – Neat

Very nifty in possession, the diminutive midfielder was a threat in the first-half, but faded badly in the second and was replaced after 75 minutes.

Maximiliano Moralez – 7 – Dangerous

Took his goal really well, chesting the ball down and volleying in via the post. The Nerazzurri were a worse team when Moralez was subbed off injured at half-time.

Mauricio Pinilla – 5.5 – Sitter

Incredibly missed an open goal, sending Zappacosta’s cross over the bar from two yards out. The Chilean made up for it, in sorts, assisting Moralez with a good flick-on header.

Substitutes:

German Denis – 5 – Ineffective

The dropped top-scorer made his return at half-time but made little impact on the game with Inter dominating territorially.

Urby Emanuelson – 6 – Involved

Got in amongst the Inter midfield when out of possession, and looked to use his pace on the ball – to little effect.

Daniele Baselli – 5.5 – Lacking

Failed to change the game in any way when introduced for Gomez with 15 minutes left to play.

Inter

Samir Handanovic – 6 – Basics

Wasn’t going to stop Moralez’s well-placed goal and generally had little else to do. All in all it was a quiet afternoon in the Bergamo rain for Handanovic.

Hugo Campagnaro – 6 – Steady

Caught out of position at times, Campagnaro’s game improved in the second-half – much like Inter in general, which could be put down to Atalanta fading.

Andrea Ranocchia – 6.5 – Confident

At ease for large parts, the centre-back made some important blocks – but lost out to Pinilla for the goal.

Juan Jesus – 6 – Rough

Stood off Moralez far too much for the equaliser, which was strange given how the Brazilian international seemed to enjoy getting stuck in and getting in the face of the opposition.

Davide Santon – 6 – Busy

The Newcastle United loanee got forward well but was certainly troubled by Zappacosta down the left-flank.

Gary Medel – 5.5 – Worried

Often too deep to be effective in restricting the hosts, the Chilean improved in a comfortable second-half.

Fredy Guarin – 8 – Quality

Struggled defensively but strong in attack, winning the penalty early on with a smart turn and curling a lovely left-footed effort past the keeper on the 37th minute. The second was a typical long-range pearl from the Biscione midfielder, Sportiello motionless as the ball was placed into the top-corner. The home fans and players alike were very worried whenever he picked up the ball.

Marcelo Brozovic – 6 – Positive

A tidy game from Brozovic, who tried to create opportunities when he could, but his shots and through balls occasionally didn’t quite come off.

Xherdan Shaqiri – 7 – Performance

Squeezed his early penalty past the keeper to claim his first Serie A goal – it wasn’t a great penalty but it counted. As expected, the Nerazzurri new-boy was positive and ran at the home defence with ease and was removed by Roberto Mancini on the 67th minute.

Rodrigo Palacio – 6 – Fortunate

Did little of note until the 57th minute, when the unmarked striker clipped Guarin’s delicate cross over the bar from eight yards out. And yet, it was a matter of good fortune that earned the Argentine his goal bonus as Stendardo’s tackle bounced in off the striker.

Lukas Podolski – 5.5 – Subdued

Quiet throughout, the German attacker managed a couple of efforts on goal but rarely took the initiative or punished the hosts.

Substitutes:

Mateo Kovacic – 6.5 – Spark

Given 20 minutes and immediately got in on the action, floating through the defence to put in a dangerous cross and win a corner.

Hernanes – 6 – Quiet

Introduced on the 75th minute but the game was all over by then.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic – N/A

Came on for just the final few minutes.