“He’s finally looking like a 100 million midfielder” – Full player ratings as Lazio leapfrog Inter to second in Serie A

In a fantastically open night of football, Lazio beat Inter 2-1 to go up to to second in Serie A.

The win allowed the Biancocelesti to leapfrog the Nerazzurri and go just one point behind league leaders Juventus.

Here’s how the players rated at Stadio Olimpico:

Lazio

Thomas Strakosha – 7 – Did what he had to do with great composure. Was particularly good at coming to collect crosses and take pressure off his defence.

Luiz Felipe – 8 – An impressive display highlighted by an inch-perfect tackle in the second-half to tackle Ashley Young inside the box and not give away a penalty. He continued to dominate at the back.

Francesco Acerbi – 8 – The heart of Lazio’s defence, keeping his back-line organised. He couldn’t handle Lautaro 1v1 but made a couple of spectacular blocks late in the game. One from Lukaku was particularly great.

Stefan Radu – 8 – Solid at the back. Made more clearances (5) than anyone else and was constantly getting in the way of Inter attacks.

Adam Marusic – 7 – Worked hard and saw his shot cleared off the line by his literal opposite number in the build-up to Lazio’s second.

Stefan Milinkovic-Savic – 9 – Thundered the ball off the bar early in the game. Began to impose himself in the second-half, driving forward into the box. Gave Lazio the lead with 20 to go after a delightful turn and left-footed finish, and from there on out was in circus mode – dancing away from Inter’s once-dominant midfield with ease (in one move he knicked it from one then flicked it over the head of the other in a moment of sublime showmanship). He’s finally looking like a 100 million midfielder.

Lucas Leiva – 7 – Launched himself into many a tackle, eventually getting booked. Didn’t really stem the tide from Inter’s midfield.

Luis Alberto – 6 – A couple of nice runs, but couldn’t really get into the game thanks to the Inter midfield.

Jony – 5 – Didn’t really impact the game at either end of the pitch. Subbed off just after the hour.

Felipe Caicedo – 5 – Worked hard but found himself constantly swarmed by Inter defenders. Left the field around the hour.

Ciro Immobile – 7 – Kept mostly out of the game by Inter’s defenders but nervelessly dispatched the penalty, his 10th of the season, to draw Lazio level. He really came into the game as Inter began opening up to chase the game. Immobile torched them on the break time and again but couldn’t bag a second to kill them off.

Substitutes:

Joaquin Correa (for Caicedo 63′) – 4 – Came on for Caicedo and was similarly ineffective.

Manuel Lazzari (for Jony 63′) – 7 – Added so much dynamism to the right-side, killing Inter off the dribble.

Danilo Cataldi (for Lucas Leiva 80′) – n/a – Came on late.

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Inter

Daniele Padelli – 4 – Looked wobbly from the off. A complete an utter liability in goal. His panicked flapping early in the second-half sent his defence into disarray, leading to Skriniar’s panicked clearance and De Vrij’s foul. Then got sent the wrong way on the penalty by Immobile. In the second-half he was slow to react for Milinkovic-Savic’s winner. Inter badly miss Samir Handanovic.

Diego Godín – 6 – A superb bit of defending to kill a promising Lazio attack early on but couldn’t handle Immobile so had to be switched to the left.

Stefan de Vrij – 4 – Solid first-half against his old club but began the second period by conceding a penalty. Unlucky in a way, but it was a sloppy bit of defending. Never really recovered from that.

Milan Skriniar – 7 – Generally okay but his clearance just before the penalty was conceded was weak, although Padelli had put him in a horrible position to begin with.

Antonio Candreva – 6 – Never afraid to drive the ball at Lazio. Took some good set-pieces. His blistering shot was palmed away by Strahoska but led to the opening goal. His delivery worsened as the game wore on.

Matias Vecino – 7 – A solid performance for the most part but a poor clearance gifted the ball to Milinkovic-Savic to score the game-winner.

Marcelo Brozovic – 7 – Spread the ball around nicely, keeping Inter on the front foot. A sublime clearance off the line in the second-half was unfortunately for naught as Lazio scored soon after.

Nico Barella – 7 – The best midfielder on the park in the first-half. Played several incisive passes inbetween the lines and behind the Lazio defence and kept Inter dominant. His influence waned in the second period.

Ashley Young – 7 – A superb performance, rolling back the years. Solid defensively and worked hard in attack too. Opened the scoring with a well-timed shot into the ground (after an attack he played a big part in) and later on almost set-up an equaliser for Lautaro.

Lautaro Martinez – 5 – A couple of lively moments but looked very much like a player lacking in proper fitness. Scored a late equaliser but was correctly ruled offside.

Romelu Lukaku – 5 – A rampaging performance early on when he was a constant menace to the Inter back-line. Faded from the game, however, was slow to close Milinkovic-Savic for the winner, and began looking like a passenger.

Substitutes:

Victor Moses (for Candreva 76′) – 5 – Did little.

Christian Eriksen (for Brozovic 77′) – 6 – Almost immediately rocked a shot at Strakosha, forcing a great save.

Alexis Sánchez (for Godín 86) – 5 – Tried to influence things but couldn’t get it together.