Final score

8 March 2021 20:45

Inter
9' (2nd half) Skriniar
1 - 0
Atalanta
Referee: Maurizio Mariani / Linesmen: Bindoni, Imperiale / Fourth official: Sacchi / Assistants: Valeri, Ranghetti
Watch highlights

Minute Text commentary
46' The first half at San Siro comes to an end: 0-0 so far between Inter and Atalanta
45' There will be one minute of added time
44' Perisic is played through beautifully by Bastoni on the heels of Toloi. He plays a ball into the centre for Lukaku, which is a split second too late for Lukaku to get on the end of and finish off
42' Lautaro chases a ball played through to the centre by Hakimi. Djimsiti puts it out for a corner
39' Handanovic makes a great save to deny Zapata's header
37' A cross comes in for Zapata from Gosens, Handanovic makes an easy save
33' Relentless play from the Nerazzurri, Perisic plays a short ball into the area but Sportello comes out and blocks it
29' Bastoni closes down Zapata brilliantly, winning the ball on the edge of the box and then getting awarded a foul
25' Lukaku almost takes the lead for Inter after taking it past Djimsiti, but is tackled just before he can take a shot
24' A good phase of play from Inter: Perisic plays in a nice ball on the edge of his right foot for Lukaku but the bounce favours the Atalanta defence
21' After an aerial clash between Lautaro and Maehle, Mariani stops play and brings on the medical staff for both teams immediately
18' Zapata goes for a shot-cum-cross from a tight angle. The ball goes out for an Inter throw-in
14' Romero is pressed by Lukaku and makes a dangerous pass to Sportiello, who avoids an own-goal with a header. Corner for Inter
12' Yellow card for Conte after a long conversation with Mariani
10' A dangerous short ball from Gosens comes from the edge of the area, the Nerazzurri defence covers well: the trajectory is good, reaching the area, but there are no Atalanta attackers ready to capitalise on it
7' Hakimi plays Lautaro through but Romero defends well, putting it out for a corner
4' Lost ball due to a misunderstanding between Brozovic and Barella, but De Roon's hoof doesn't reach Zapata
1' Perisic goes for an immediate attack, winning the first corner of the match!
1' Everything is now in place: the Nerazzurri kick off the first half. Come on boys, COME ON INTER!
1' The two teams are making their way on to the pitch. Not long to go now until kick-off!
1' Conte is going with the usual 3-5-2 with only two changes to the eleven that emerged victorious at the Tardini: Vidal comes on for Eriksen in midfield, whilst in attack Lautaro Martinez will be playing alongside Lukaku
1' The floodlights are on at San Siro for the Monday night fixture of Serie A's 26th matchday: league leaders Inter host Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta side
Minute Text commentary
49' And there goes the final whistle at San Siro! Inter beat Atalanta 1-0 thanks to Skriniar's goal and are back six points clear of AC Milan !!!
47' Lukaku races against Palomino but Sportiello does well to come out before his shot from the edge of the area
45' There will be four minutes of added time
40' The final change sees D'Ambrosio replace Hakimi
40' Double change for Conte: Darmian on for Perisic
39' Pasalic goes for a volley on the end of Toloi's cross: a nice shot but too high, over the bar
36' Double change for Inter: Freuler and Djimsiti come off for Pasalic and Palomino
33' Barella plays Sanchez in, but there's just a little bit too much on it and Sportiello stops it on the edge of the area
32' And Sanchez comes on for Lautaro
32' Double change for Inter: Gagliardini comes on for Brozovic
31' Muriel takes a shot on his left and is denied by Handanovic who saves it with his feet
28' Another change for Atalanta: Miranchuk replaces Pessina
26' Djimsiti gets on the end of Ilicic's free-kick with a header. The ball goes out to the right of Handanovic's net
25' A change for Atalanta: Muriel replaces Zapata
23' Atalanta look dangerous with Zapata, who controls the ball and goes for goal from inside the area but just misses
17' Freuler crosses it in, Gosens heads it but ends up missing the target
14' Romero makes a dangerous tackle on Lautaro. A foul for Inter and an inevitable yellow card for the Atalanta number 17
12' A huge chance to make it 2-0: Lukaku makes the most of a slip-up from Toloi but as he goes to shoot Romero catches up for him and makes a spectacular tackle to put it out for a corner
9' GOAAALLLL! Skriniaaarrr! After a corner on the right the Nerazzurri number 37 goes for the second rebound to put an end to the scramble, slotting the ball in the corner. 1-0!!!
8' Perisic hits it on the turn with his right from the edge of the books, Maehle gets his foot on it and it goes out for a corner
8' A change for Inter: Eriksen comes on for Vidal
7' Ilicic makes a cross in the final third, de Vrij covers for Handanovic who comes out
4' Barella goes on the counter-attack and tries to reach Hakimi, but De Roon slides in and puts it out for a throw-in
1' The second half begins. Come on boys, COME ON INTER!
1' A change for Atalanta during the break: Ilicic comes on for Malinovskyi

Handanovic
7.76
7.76
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
D'Ambrosio
6.34
6.34
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Brozovic
6.62
6.62
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Perisic
6.5
6.5
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Gagliardini
6.07
6.07
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Skriniar
8.11
8.11
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Martínez
6.85
6.85
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
de Vrij
7.24
7.24
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Barella
6.26
6.26
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Bastoni
7.19
7.19
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Lukaku
5.82
5.82
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Sanchez
6.17
6.17
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Eriksen
7.29
7.29
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Hakimi
5.64
5.64
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Vidal
3.91
3.91
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Darmian
6.27
6.27
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X
YOUR RATING
Average rating 6.5 SEND RATINGS
5 shots on target 13
0 shots off target 8
11 fouls committed 17
7 corners 7
2 offsides 0
45% ball possession 55%

Inter have won only one of their last six matches against Atalanta in Serie A (D4 L1) - since 2018, Roma are the only other Serie A side they are yet to beat.

After two consecutive home defeats against Atalanta in Serie A, Inter are unbeaten in their last six games against the Dea at Meazza Stadium: four wins followed by two draws.

The 49 points picked up by Atalanta after the first 25 games in Serie A this season represent a record for the Bergamo side at this point of the season in the top-flight.

Atalanta have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three away Serie A games - only twice have they had a longer streak on the road in the top-flight: in 1997 and 2016 (four in both cases).

Inter have earned 59+ Serie A points in the opening 25 games of a single campaign for their fourth time in the three points for a win era, and in the previous three (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09) they ended the season as champions.

Inter have won each of their last nine home Serie A games - the last time they had a longer streak was back in May 2011, when they reached 13.

wins(44) draws(11) defeats(9)

MILAN - In matches, just like in battles, you have to choose your tactics, your men and your moments. You have to know when and how to attack, how to defend, and even to drop deep and suffer when necessary. There are moments that determine whether the key to defeating an opponent is a matter of cunning or strength, and there is also the awareness that suffering is necessary, perhaps essential, to win those inches, that ground. To claim victory. Milan Skriniar is a defensive general with a licence to get forward and he sealed our victory against Atalanta: the only goal of the game even came from a sort of battle - well, scramble - inside the box. All three Inter defenders had a role to play: de Vrij, Bastoni and finally Skriniar. A lethal finish. And then it fell to them to repel the Gasperini’s battalions’ attempts at scoring. Atalanta won little ground: Conte’s Inter side were too compact for that. Until the final minute. And even beyond. They now have seven victories in a row and 62 points in the league. This team doesn’t back down. Ever.

Inter vs. Atalanta was not a game of chess, it was much more than that. An end-to-end clash, two footballing philosophies that might seem similar – at a glance – but that differ in their ideas and principles. Atalanta were man-marking, always and everywhere, whereas Inter let their guests have possession, kept their own half well defended and waited for the right moment to strike and unleash Lukaku on the counter. Gasperini told Maehle to press Bastoni, making it difficult for the Nerazzurri to move the ball up-field. It was a complicated game, as expected. And although the two best attacks in the league were facing off against each other, the first half ended at 0-0 for the second time in an Inter vs Atalanta fixture.

It wasn’t one of those games where you need an abacus to keep track of how many great goalscoring opportunities there have been. But the clash was on a very high tactical level: the intensity, the plays and the one-on-ones were all to the max. Atalanta tried to unleash Gosens with Zapata, who switched a lot to the left flank, taking on Skriniar. Inter were solid and conceded little, and in attack relying on Lukaku, who often had his back to the net and was far from the area. In the 25th minute, the Belgian was whiskers away from scoring but was caught at the last moment by Djimsiti. Atalanta’s two big chances both came in the 40th minute, with two consecutive corners: on the first, Handanovic was spectacular in saving Zapata’s shot, and on the second Brozovic denied Djimsiti’s header on the line.

 

Ilicic came on in place of Malinovskyi to start the second half and, a short while later, Eriksen replaced Vidal. These changes altered the balance of the game to a certain extent. The Slovenian became a focal point for all of Atalanta’s offensive actions; Eriksen, meanwhile, took the corner from which the only goal of the game came. Perisic headed down, Bastoni knocked it back and Skriniar poked home his third goal of the season. 1-0 to Inter.

 

Inter almost doubled their lead right away; Lukaku, as it was in the first half, was through on goal but, this time, was denied by Romero’s sliding challenge. That was, in the 57th minute, Inter’s last real chance of the game. From that moment on, the Nerazzurri withstood a period of prolonged pressure from Atalanta. Inter dug deep and weathered the storm brought on by Gasperini’s men, who brought on fresh legs in Muriel, Miranchuk and Pasalic. The away side pushed hard for the equaliser, both through the middle and from out wide, pushing plenty of players up the pitch. However, the Bergamo outfit only managed to create three chances: Zapata fired wide, Handanovic denied Muriel and Pasalic’s effort on the turn was off-target

Experience, determination, the strength of the unit and a willingness to duffer; this is Conte’s Inter, an Inter side that fights and wins!

MATCH DETAILS

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar, 6 de Vrij, 95 Bastoni; 2 Hakimi (33 D'Ambrosio 85'), 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic (5 Gagliardini 77'), 22 Vidal (24 Eriksen 53'), 14 Perisic (36 Darmian 85'); 9 Lukaku, 10 Lautaro (7 Sanchez 77').
Substitutions: 97 Radu, 8 Vecino, 11 Kolarov, 12 Sensi, 13 Ranocchia, 15 Young, 99 Pinamonti.
Coach: Antonio Conte.

ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): 57 Sportiello; 2 Toloi, 17 Romero, 19 Djimsiti (6 Palomino 81'); 3 Maehle, 11 Freuler (88 Pasalic 81'), 15 De Roon, 8 Gosens; 32 Pessina (59 Miranchuk 73'), 18 Malinovskyi (72 Ilicic 46'); 91 Zapata (9 Muriel 70').
Substitutions: 31 Rossi, 95 Gollini, 7 Lammers, 13 Caldara, 20 Kovalenko, 40 Ruggeri, 41 Ghislandi.
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.

Goalscorer: 54' Skriniar (I)
Bookings: Romero (A)
Notes: Antonio Conte booked (I)
Added time: 1' - 4'

Referee: Mariani.
Linesmen: Bindoni, Imperiale.
Fourth Official: Sacchi.
VAR: Valeri.
Assistant VAR: Ranghetti.

starting lineups

Handanovic 1 57 Sportiello
Skriniar 37 2 Toloi
de Vrij 6 17 Romero
Bastoni 95 19 Djimsiti
Hakimi 2 3 Maehle
Barella 23 11 Freuler
Brozovic 77 15 De Roon
Vidal 22 8 Gosens
Perisic 14 32 Pessina
Martínez 10 18 Malinovskyi
Lukaku 9 91 Zapata

substitutes

Radu 97 31 Rossi
Gagliardini 5 95 Gollini
Sanchez 7 6 Palomino
Vecino 8 7 Lammers
Kolarov 11 9 Muriel
Sensi 12 13 Caldara
Ranocchia 13 20 Kovalenko
Young 15 40 Ruggeri
Eriksen 24 41 Ghislandi
D'Ambrosio 33 59 Miranchuk
Darmian 36 72 Ilicic
Pinamonti 99 88 Pasalic

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