Inter 3-1 Lazio Player Ratings: Lukaku brilliance gives Nerazzurri huge win

10:45pm on Sunday 14th February 2021
By Paul Macdonald

Inter took a massive step in the Serie A title race after Romelu Lukaku inspired them to a 3-1 home win over Lazio at San Siro.

With Juventus and Milan dropping points the day prior, the onus was on Antonio Conte's side to win to move top of the table above their city rivals. And they duly delivered thanks to their Belgian forward.

Inter 3-1 Lazio: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats

✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 7.1

Despite Inter claiming the spoils here, Lazio can feel hard done by as they controlled the ball for long periods and had a harsh penalty given against them at 0-0.

And Milinkovic-Savic did excellent things in the centre of the midfield, making over 70 passes at a 93% pass completion rate - the highest on the pitch. He won 2/2 tackles and made six ball recoveries as well.

And it was his goal-bound free-kick that flicked off Gonzalo Escalante and flew into the net, giving Lazio the goal their play deserved, if not one that they could build on.

❌ BAD PERFORMANCE

Achraf Hakimi: 5.8

Within Antonio Conte's system there are games where Hakimi sees little of the ball in effective positions and this was one of those.

The Moroccan wasn't able to impact the match in an offensive way, losing possession a hefty 18 times despite only having 43 touches of the ball throughout.

He also won just 2/6 of his duels, as well as not putting a single cross into the area and having one touch inside the opposition box. A distinctly un-Hakimi like performance from the wing-back.

⭐ STAR MAN

Romelu Lukaku: 8.4

This was one of those evenings where the dynamic Belgian was simply unplayable.

After the harsh penalty award he stepped up to calmly open the scoring, slotting to the goalkeeper's left for a vital goal.

And while the Lazio defence stopped expecting an offside, Lukaku played on and smashed his volley past Pepe Reina for 2-0.

But he kept his best moment for the second half; with the match in the balance at 2-1, he left Marco Parolo for dust on the counterattack and slipped to his side to allow Lautaro Martinez the most straightforward task to roll into the net.

Inter 3-1 Lazio: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats