Player ratings: Bologna 1-1 Inter – Defenders impress despite dreadful pens

The defenders and goalkeepers provided some of the most impressive performances as Bologna booked their spot in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final after a penalty shoot-out victory against Inter in Saudi Arabia on Friday night. Check out the player ratings below!

The Nerazzurri stormed into an early lead: Alessandro Bastoni nicking the ball, carrying it past several defenders before crossing to Marcus Thuram to volley home after just 72 seconds. The Rossoblu were level after 35 minutes, though: Riccardo Orsolini slamming his spot-kick right down the middle of the net for 1-1. 

With no extra-time in play in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-finals, the contest went directly to a penalty shootout with the scores still level after 90 minutes.

It wasn’t the most impressive display in the shootout: Lewis Ferguson and Lautaro Martinez both dispatched, but then came five consecutive misses: Alessandro Bastoni, Nikola Moro, Nicolo Barella, Juan Miranda and Ange-Yoan Bonny all failing to score. Jonathan Rowe converted and gave Bologna the advantage. One more successful penalty apiece from Stefan de Vrij and Ciro Immobile, and it was victory Bologna. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog. 

Bologna: Ravaglia 7; Holm 6.5, Heggem 6.5, Lucumi 7, Miranda 6; Moro 6, Pobega 5.5; Orsolini 7, Odgaard 5.5, Bernardeschi 6.5; Castro 6.

Best Bologna player: Lucumi 7 – After the worst possible of starts on a collective level, this was a very strong individual performance from the Bologna centre-back, who seemed unbeatable at times. He kept that going right until the end with a tricky, but crucial interception in the penalty area to steer the ball behind for a corner to stop Inter from snatching victory right at the death in a hectic final few moments. 

Coach: Vincenzo Italiano 6.5 – In the end, Bologna did enough to hold on for a draw, which in this competition, can be just as rewarding as a victory. They also had to deal with an unfortunate first-half injury to Feredico Bernardeschi, who had been one of their better players up until that point. Job well done against a tough Inter side, and now a chance of silverware for the second time in seven months. What a fantastic appointment this has turned out to be.

Inter: J.Martinez 7; Bisseck 5, De Vrij 6, Bastoni 6.5; L.Henrique 5.5, Barella 6, Zielinski 6, Mkhitaryan 6, Dimarco 6.5; Thuram 6.5, Bonny 6.

Best Inter player: Josep Martinez 7 – Inter have him to thank for keeping the scores at 1-1 in injury time. It was a brilliant save on Inter graduate Giovanni Fabbian that kept the scores level with just a few minutes left to go. He also came up with a brilliant save to deny Nikola Moro during the penalties, which should have shifted the momentum of the shoot-out. A shame that Barella and Bonny both hit dreadful penalties to follow it up. 

Coach: Cristian Chivu 5 – Ultimately, this goes down as another game where Chivu has struggled and ultimately failed to beat a direct rival. Yes, they sit at the top of the Serie A table, yes they are on track to finish the Champions League league phase in the top eight, but imagine how things would be looking for them heading into Christmas had they not lost to Juventus, Napoli, Milan, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and now Bologna in the Supercoppa Italiana as well.