Chievo lost 2-0 to Inter in what was a feisty encounter on a cold Monday night at the Bentegodi.
It took two slightly scrappy goals from Mateo Kovacic and Andrea Ranocchia in each half to send the visitors back to Milan with the three points.
Did we get our ratings right? Let us know in the comments below.
Chievo
Albano Bizzarri – 6 – Respectable
Looked tidy when making relatively simple saves and plucking crosses from the sky. Faultless for both goals.
Alessandro Gamberini – 6.5 – Solid
The veteran defender made some important last gasp interceptions on his own at times after those in front of him failed to keep Inter out.
Bostjan Cesar – 6 – Mixed
At times looked very good at the back as the Gialloblu frustrated Inter but was prone to the odd mistake and didn’t cover himself in glory for the first goal.
Mariano Izco – 5.5 – Absent
Did little in midfield and was frequently isolated on the flanks and squandered possession too often when he managed to get on the ball.
Gennaro Sardo – 5 – Frustrating
Not especially convincing with players running at him and wasteful on the ball. Ran off the pitch at one point to the home’s fans displeasure.
Ivan Radovanovic – 6 – Clumsy
Powerful, did a job and got in Inter’s faces but had a nasty habit of giving the ball away when left with too much time on the ball to think when he could have hit Inter on the counterattack.
Valter Birsa- 5.5 – Trier
Got into decent positions and showed that he can run with a ball at his feet but struggled to punish the Nerazzurri with his final ball. Taken off after 17 minutes of the second with Ceo looking to get back from a two-goal deficit.
Cristiano Biraghi – 5 – Poor
Offered very little going forwards from left-back and was part of the Ceo defence that dealt terribly with a high ball to gift Kovacic the opening goal.
Alberto Paloschi – 5.5 – Toothless
Missed a great chance to open the scoring from close range after a mis-hit cross fell to the striker but he couldn’t direct his header away from Handanovic. Came close to equalising after the restart but his shot went narrowly wide. Taken off with Birsa as he struggled to back an impact.
Perparim Hetemaj – 6 – Fighter
Did a good enough job in the middle of the pitch and made things difficult for the visitors but didn’t have the creativity to help the Flying Donkeys once they went a goal down.
Riccardo Meggiorini – 6.5 – Soldier
Made a nuisance of himself and bullied the Inter defenders but struggled to find a clear sight of goal and had a spectacular bicycle kick well saved. Made a heroic goal-line clearance only for Inter to score with the subsequent corner.
Substitutes
Maxi Lopez – 5 – Anonymous
Came on with over 20 minutes to go but never really got on the ball.
Ruben Botta – 2 – Shocker
Came on as a substitute against his parent club and got sent off almost immediately after although his challenge probably wasn’t the game’s worst and he was rather unfortunate.
Sergio Pellissier – N/A
Inter
Samir Handanovic – 6.5 – Reliable
Did extremely well to deny Paloschi when the striker should have scored in the opening 10 minutes. Almost caught out by an overhit cross that he left only for it to carry on and hit his crossbar. Made a number of good saves and deserved his clean sheet.
Juan Jesus – 6.5 -Battler
Chievo wanted to wind up the defender and largely succeeded but he dealt with with high balls into the box and marshalled the troops well from the back alongside the Skipper Ranocchia.
Rodrigo Palacio – 5.5 -Missing
Played with his head up and tried to link the play up but his passing wasn’t at its best and he never managed to fire away any shots of note at goal.
Mauro Icardi – 6 -Average
Worked hard but like his strike partner Palacio he never really threatened the Ceo goal and it was largely from midfield that the Nerazzurri looked like scoring.
Mateo Kovacic – 7.5 – Star
Opened the scoring with a tap in after 17 minutes after Chievo defenders gifted him a sight at goal. Distribution was excellent and his dribbling appeared to cause Chievo so many problems that they frequently had to resort to fouling the Croatian.
Fredy Guarin – 5.5 – Wasteful
Would make driving runs that stretched the opposition and smashed the ball at goal with power in his trademark manner but also misplaced simple passes in the centre of midfield and squandered a second half counterattack when he had teammates free.
Zdravko Kuzmanovic – 6 – Worker
Put a shift in the centre of the park and seemed to relish it when things got feisty. An unspectacular but impressive performance that was characteristic of the win.
Gary Medel – 6 – Bulldog
Obvious why he’s called ‘The Bulldog’. Feisty when closing down and tough in the tackle but untidy in possession but it was a scrappy game and one that suited the tough Chilean.
Andrea Ranocchia – 7 – Leader
Intelligent with his defensive positioning and organised his teammates well. Took his goal well after getting forward for a corner to kill the game off.
Danilo D’Ambrosio – 5.5 – Struggled
Never really got into the game and his final ball wasn’t the best, didn’t appear to enjoy it when the game descended into a battle around the centre circle.
Yuto Nagatomoo – 6 – Competent
The Japanese wing-back did well defensively but wasn’t as good or ambitious as he can be going forwards although he was slowed down after the home defenders left their mark on him a few times.
Substitutes
Yann M’Vila – 6 – Tidy
Didn’t do much but helped calm the game down as Inter saw out time.
Dodo – 6.5 – Promising
Offered more going forward up the flanks and possibly could have had an assist if Osvaldo’s finishing was better.
Pablo Dani Osvaldo – 5 – Wasteful
Fired off an airshot after some good work from his teammates and then also smashed a long-range effort into the stands not long after.