Udinese 1-2 Inter Milan: Player Ratings

If Inter Milan players were expecting push overs right after break, they thought wrong. Udinese proved to be the stronger of the two sides in the first half and if they had been clinical, Udinese could have put the game to rest. Right before the half time whistle finally blew, Perisic snagged a goal for Inter to send the teams into the dressing rooms with a score line that was not reflective of the game. Stefano Pioli gathered the team and pushed Inter towards a second half that saw them push for a win. Eventually, Inter found their winner, again, by a Perisic goal. Udinese provided Inter with a stern test that Inter was fortunate to overcome.

Players

Samir Handanovic - 6

Facing his former side, Handanovic may have desired nothing more than to beat his old team. This does not mean he put in a perfect performance. In fact, Handanovic almost gifted Udinese a goal in the early moments of the game as he passed the ball straight to an Udinese player from a goal kick. Handanovic did recover and had a good couple saves when he was called upon, but there was nothing he could do about Jankto's goal.

Danilo D'Ambrosio - 5

As of late, Danilo D'Ambrosio has put in several good performances. This performance was definitely not up to par with his previous efforts. On Udinese's lone goal, D'Ambrosio was caught in no mans land as the ball was slipped into Jankto was wide open thanks to D'Ambrosio. D'Ambrosio did not let this deter him though as he put in a serviceable for the rest of the match.

Jeison Murillo - 6

Murillo has not completely recovered from the bad form that has plagued him most of the season. In the first half, his shaky side showed as he fell to the ground while trying to defend Jankto. Murillo followed up his underwhelming first half performance with a solid second half showing. Murillo displayed in full effect that he can be that he has all the qualities needed of a central defender.

Miranda - 6.5

Miranda without a doubt is the leader of our defense. Without Miranda, Inter would struggle to defend against even the least threatening of teams. Miranda leads the back line with composure and experience and rarely puts a wrong foot forward. I lost track of how many times he dispossessed Udinese players.

Christian Ansaldi - 5.5

Ansaldi may not be the answer to the years of futility Inter has had at fullback, but he definitely is an upgrade over players we have had there previously. His defending, while not perfect, was good enough and he always gets forward and provides the another option when the team is on the offensive.

Geoffrey Kondogbia - 6

In the forty third minute a sequence of plays just about summed up Kondogbia's performance. He tracked back and won the ball in our defensive third. After that, Kondogbia brilliantly turned past an Udinese player before sprinting up the field just to pass the ball away. Kondogbia can be an exceptional talent, he just needs to hone in on his in game decision making. Aside from a few errant passes and a yellow card, Kondogbia had a good performance, but with his talent, we expect more.

Marcelo Brozovic - 5.5

Against Udinese we did not see Epic Brozo. Rather we saw an unexceptional Brozovic who misplaced several passes and was dribbled past on Udinese's opening goal. Unfortunately for Brozovic, he will not be able to atone for his poor game against Cheivo as picked up a booking in this game which will result in a suspension.

Ever Banega - 5

Coming off his stellar game against Lazio, Banega must have been hoping for another dominant outing. Instead, Udinese forced the playmaker out to the wings or all the way back to the defense just to receive the ball. Banega did not do much after receiving the ball though and did not create any meaningful chances. Was justly subbed off for Joao Mario early in the second half.

Ivan Perisic - 7.5

Perisic delivered the victory to Inter fans today on the back of his spectacular performance. In the first half, Inter did not create much and probably did not deserve to go into the break tied. This did not deter Perisic as he slotted home a wonderful ball from Icardi in the closing seconds of the first half. Then, in the eighty seventh minute as Inter were pushing for the win, Perisic rose above the rest to reach a Joao Mario free kick and bury it pass Karnezis with a powerful header. A wonderful performance from the Croatian winger who has now tallied six goals.

Antonio Candreva - 5

A shocking game from Candreva. Recently, Candreva has been in such form that a night like this would have been previously unimaginable. Did not beat his defender once and he did not swing in any dangerous cross. Candreva was ineffective against Udinese, but I fully expect him to return to his normal playing level against Chievo.

Mauro Icardi - 6

Icardi does not need much to alter the balance of a game. Throughout the first half, Icardi struggled to even get a glimpse of the ball. That was until extra time of the first half when Icardi dribbled the ball past a defender and delivered a pin point ball to Perisic. Unlike so many other players, Icardi does not constantly need the ball at his feet to decide games. He is a fantastic player and an absolute joy to watch.

Substitutes

Joao Mario - 6.5

Came onto the pitch and changed the flow of the match. Mario did everything. He ran up and down the pitch, he dribbled by opponents, he threaded passes, and most importantly, he delivered the ball that Perisic finished in the eighty seventh minute. Joao Mario came on and delivered a result for the team.

Eder - N/A

Did not receive too much playing time, but caused Udinese some problems. He drew a couple fouls and the crucial one that set up Perisic's header off a free kick.

Marco Andreolli -N/A

Brought on as the game was coming to a close. His addition was used to add even more solidity to the team and help finish off the game.

Manager

Stefano Pioli - 7

Pioli decided not to make any changes from the starting lineup that won against Lazio. Cannot have any to many complaints as the team did win today, but still there are a few issues to address. Firstly, the defense showed some obvious rust in the first game back from the winter break. The defense seemed chaotic at times in the first half but eventually got organized and put it all together. The second issue I had was with the midfielders. The midfield lacked ideas and had trouble in possession. The team was completely void of ideas at times and had to scrap for chances in the first half. The Joao Mario substitution proved to be a vital one as he came in an immediately added more creativity to the team and got a crucial assist. Hopefully these issues will be fixed for upcoming fixtures and lead to more dominant displays in the future.