Inter Milan 2 - 1 Sparta Prague: Player Ratings

This match's only function was to uselessly prolong Inter's EL nightmare but fortunately, our loved Nerazzurri decided to finally delight us with a decent performance. Pioli was in an experimental mood as he tried a three men defense and he also moved Ansaldi a little higher and a little more in the middle than usual.

Ratings

Juan Pablo Carrizo - 7

We know how disastrous he can be in the Europa League but with Handanovic suspended Pioli had no other choice than starting him. The three man defense was surprisingly good enough to allow him to have a pretty easy night apart from the penalty he had to save to prevent Sparta Prague from taking the lead.

Marco Andreolli - 5.5

I was fairly happy to see him play for us after a very long time and Pioli also trusted him enough to give him the captain's armband. He was the no-nonsense, solid defender we remembered for the most part of the match, at least until he confused Lafata with his girlfriend and hugged him inside the box, forcing the referee to whistle the penalty. He owes Carrizo a dinner.

Andrea Ranocchia - 5.5

His confidence and his performances are trending up lately but he is still far from being reliable enough to be our starting CB.

Jeison Murillo - 6

We almost forgot that he was on our team and tonight he reminded us why we relied so heavily on him (paired with Miranda) before his breakdown. When focused he can be an absolute wall in the defense also thanks to his great athletic qualities.

Jonathan Biabiany - 5.5

I can't recall a single significant thing he did yesterday night, both positively and negatively. The days when he could outrun almost anybody on a football field are long gone, exposing his technical inadequacy. I can see him being a decent Coppa Italia player this season.

Felipe Melo - 6

You know how much I'm hating myself right now but I wouldn't be fair with the Brazilian Karate Kid if I'd give him anything less than 6. He didn't play a spectacular game but that's not what he is asked to do, He is asked to defend and bring some order to the team and he did just that.

Cristian Ansaldi - 5.5

Just like Murillo before this match, he is in full regression mode. Pioli tried him in midfield and I think we all agree to say that the experiment didn't work out to perfection. For me he is just not there physically. I can tell that he knows how to play and he try to do the right things but his legs are not responding to his brain's commands. Hopefully the winter break will help him get back in shape.

Senna Miangue - 6.5

Whenever he has been called to action this season he has never disappointed. He didn't get the chance to display his impressive physical and athletic tools yesterday but he played a good game nonetheless, running up and down the left flank countless times with his long legs and he also put in the cross that then became Inter's first goal. He knows he is not the most technically gifted player on Earth and that's why you know he is going to give all he has every time he is on the pitch.

Eder - 7

Thanks to his brace yesterday Inter still managed to finish last in the group and won't advance to the next round. Seriously, he played a very good match and even though he should have played wider on the right flank he ended up playing more as a second striker, with good results.

Andrea Pinamonti - 6.5

At the end of the match the young - he is SEVENTEEN years old - striker said that he was really excited to play and that he didn't know he was in the starting lineup until Pioli told him just one hour before the starting whistle. It didn't looked like that on the pitch because he played like he knew he would have played from the first minute. He tried to get involved in the build-up play, he made a lot of useful movement trying to find an empty space to receive the ball and never tried to do too much to prove he is worthy of the black and blue jersey. I would have loved to see him score, unfortunately I just have to be happy with the great play inside the box that led to Eder's first goal.

Can he be Icardi's back-up striker instead of the useless and overpaid Jojo? Well, if you ask me...He absolutely can and should.

Rodrigo Palacio - 5.5

When Palacio plays you can always count on his effort. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to do much else lately.

Subs

Ivan Perisic - 5.5

Maybe it's me, but I always expect more from him. Before the start of the season I thought he would have been, along with Mauro, one of the key players for Inter this season. So far, he hasn't been that bad but he also still hasn't proved to be as dominant as we glimpsed in some matches last season and this summer during Euro 2016.

Axel Bakayoko - N/A

Unlike Senna and Andrea, Axel didn't have enough time to prove his qualities yesterday.

Manager

Stefano Pioli - 6.5 (?)

It's hard to judge the manager's work in this match because of the uselessness of the event and the weirdness of the formation. I give him a 6.5 for just two reasons: the win and the fact he used three Primavera players. We hopefully/probably won't see this experimental 3-4-3 formation never again but for this match, good job Stefano.