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Two individual errors cost Udinese the elimination from the Italian Cup. This is how Messaggero Veneto sees it, writing: “Udinese have taken home little or nothing from the night of the Italian Cup at San Siro, where they literally gave away two goals in the first half which put Inter in the quarter-finals, which in the next stage, at the beginning of February, they will challenge Lazio in what on paper objectively seems to be the most difficult half of the draw, considering that the winner in the semi-final will face whoever passes between Milan and Rome. A discussion that does not concern Udinese who yesterday showed up for kick-off with Alexis Sanchez, making his seasonal debut after a long recovery, but also without six starters, given the absences of Davis, Giannetti, Payero, Zarraga, Okoye and Lovric with only the latter destined for recovery in view of the postponement on Monday (6.30pm) at Fiorentina, where he will play the 17th matchday of the championship. For this reason, but also to allow some possible starters to take a breather, Runjaic played on some choices yesterday, such as that of the goalkeeper who, objectively, could also have confirmed compared to the last round of Serie A, where he moved between the posts the Romanian Sava”.
The newspaper points the finger at the errors of Ekkelenkamp, who gave the Nerazzurri the lead, and of Piana, who didn’t come out to defend the small area on Asllani’s corner. And so “The Juventus Italian Cup goes to the archives without flashes of glory”. And we dive back into the championship: on Monday there is the away match to Florence, for which Runjaic hopes to have Lovric back.
THE BIANCONERI’S REPORT CARD
4 EKKELENKAMP Ready to go and doesn’t frame the mirror, wasting the delicious goal ball that comes his way by being able to look at the goal from a frontal position on the edge of the area, but the worst mistake is the imprecise and slow back pass with which he triggers Taremi into the action that leads Inter ahead. From then on he gets lost and only shows up for a couple of hard tackles.
4.5 PIANA Responsible for the goal from the flag, with the ball passing in front of him in the small area. Then he instinctively saves on Carlos Augusto.
5 KABASELE He hadn’t played since November 2nd and the lack of rhythm is notable. Slow when closing and setting up.
5 BIJOL He does not follow Arnautovic in the goal action and then participates in the nativity scene as a beautiful figurine on Asllani’s corner goal.
6 TOURE’ Grows in the second half. He sends Lucca through on goal then closes on Lautaro and finally comes close to scoring at the end.
5.5 MODESTO He starts very well with the cross from the back, then he applies it but no longer sinks.
5.5 ATTA He starts with ease and dribbles with confidence, but then drops and slides a couple of times, losing the ball on the way out.
5.5 KARLSTROM The slow ball circulation starts from him, but he finds no ideas in front of him. In the action of the first goal he covers Taremi but is unable to stop the Iranian who serves Arnautovic.
5 KAMARA Wastes Sanchez’s chocolate in the 13th minute, then sends shivers by leading and losing the ball in front of his own penalty area. It doesn’t sting and it hurts.
6 SANCHEZ Still celebrates his birthday, returning to the field after four months. He gives a super assist to Kamara and almost scores from a corner. He protects the ball and distributes it with quality even in tight spaces. Good return.
5.5 LUCCA The only time he could look for the goal he tries an unlikely penalty by letting himself fall. He gets punched and complains too much.
6 ABANKWAH As in the final in Monza, he can’t stop the ball at his feet. Here he also comes out of defense a couple of times, in the face of Inter’s big names. Good personality.
5.5 BRAVO Two good plays in the final, but the conclusions after the dribbles are to be forgotten
sv ZEMURA He takes over Atta from midfielder and looks for a couple of crosses and a shot at the end.
sv PIZARRO He makes his debut, looking for position while watching Inter’s ball movement.
5 BRENNER It’s the last change and we understand why. He doesn’t shoot well even when standing still, with a weak corner. He seems to struggle to give force to the ball.
