Inter are up against a true giant in the 2023 Champions League final as they match up against Manchester City in Istanbul on Saturday.
In Europe's biggest annual club game, the Italian side will be lining up against a team gunning for an historic treble, with City having already won the domestic double with the Premier League and FA Cup titles.
Despite finishing third in the Serie A table this year, Simone Inzaghi has kept Inter afloat through a terrific Champions League run, reaching the final through a combination of resilience, unity, and some good fortune.
The Sporting News brings you a breakdown of the top players in the Inter squad who will be most critical to any potential success at Ataturk Olympic Stadium this weekend.
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Inter best players for 2023 Champions League final
Finishing third in the Serie A table, Inter have been led by a number of players who have stepped up at key moments this season, especially in European football.
Below are the five best players on the Inter squad who are likely to play key roles in any potential upset the Italian club may spring against Man City, plus a few other important figures who didn't quite make the list.
5. Federico Dimarco (LWB, 25 years old)
While Federico Dimarco isn't the best defender, his contributions in the attacking third out wide are truly valuable, and Inter will need him to rise to the occasion. This was evident by Simone Inzaghi resting his Italian international for the final league game of the season against Torino, with Dimarco not even in the squad.
Dimarco is all gas and no brakes — in 26 Serie A starts this season, he completed just three full 90 minutes appearances. He's been let down by teammates in front of net, collecting just three assists, but he leads the team in expected assists (xA) with 7.46, according to analytical website Understat. According to statistical website FBRef, amongst European full-backs, Dimarco is in the 99th percentile in xA, 98th percentile in shot creation, 99th percentile in shots, and 93rd percentile in progressive passes received.
The downfall of Dimarco's game is his defending, which is, quite frankly, substandard compared to his peers. He ranks in the 15th percentile or lower in tackles, blocks, clearances, and aerial duels, and analytical website SmarterScout scores Dimarco a 12 out of 100 in defending quantity, plus a 34 in defending quality. Still, that's not his job, and he relies on the trio of centre-backs behind him as backup to bomb forward and provide service.
4. Alessandro Bastoni (CB, 24 years old)
Alessandro Bastoni is just one cog in the Inter defensive machine, but he's likely the most important one, having developed into one of the world's pre-eminent ball-playing centre-backs.
According to SmarterScout, Bastoni this season compiled an attacking output score of 79, defending quality score of 86, and ball retention score of 71 in their metrics rated on a scale of 100. In the Champions League he was even better, putting together an attacking output of 96, defending quality of 88 and ball retention of 83.
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3. Hakan Calhanoglu (CM, 29 years old)
After a four-year career at AC Milan, German midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu switched to the other side of the Milan divide in 2021 on a free transfer, and he's been a shrewd signing for the Nerazzurri. Playing in a more advanced midfield role, he doesn't produce the raw numbers in front of goal one might expect from a player in his position, but he displays strong versatility and does a lot of behind-the-scenes work in this Inzaghi system.
Calhanoglu's best ability is to bring teammates into good attacking positions. He loves to take shots himself, but his shot selection is poor. It's the chance creation and attacking pressure he provides that is truly valuable. According to FBRef, Calhanoglu is in the 97th percentile of midfielders in Europe in shot-creating actions, and the 90th percentile for expected assists.
2. Nicolo Barella (CM, 26 years old)
Nicolo Barella is the engine that makes the Inter midfield tick, and he's grown into a real talent, able to contribute at both ends of the field, slowly becoming one of the best pure No.8s in the world.
While he puts in the defensive work, he can progress the ball forward with real venom, most notably on the dribble taking on opponents. Barella is the only midfielder in Serie A this season to compile 50+ tackles, 40+ dribbles, and 50+ key passes. Sitting alongside 30-year-old Marcelo Brozovic, Barella makes that midfield go, and will be critical for Inter for years to come – unless they decide to cash in on the Italian international.
1. Lautaro Martinez (CF, 25 years old)
Nobody on this Inter side is more important or more popular than Lautaro Martinez, who has carried this attack through the entirety of the season. His 4,027 minutes across all competitions are tops on the squad, including goalkeepers, underlining just how critical he is to this team.
But no figure speaks more to his importance to Inter than this mind-blowing statistic: Inter lost 14 games this season across all competitions, and in those matches, Martinez scored one goal and assisted none. Considering the Argentine has 28 goals and assisted 11 more across all competitions this season, it's entirely fair to say that when Lautaro scores, Inter perform, but when he doesn't, they're in real trouble.
Lautaro comes into this game in great form, which is a boon for the Italian side, and they'll need him to score to get past a generational Man City side.
🗣| Lautaro Martinez on #ManCity:
— City Chief (@City_Chief) June 6, 2023
“There’s no doubt that they’re one of the best teams in the world. They play a style of football that I really enjoy, and they will be a very tough opponent to come up against.” pic.twitter.com/SaMJTNpymy
Honorable mentions
The most glaring omission from this list is Romelu Lukaku, with the former Chelsea and Manchester United forward failing to keep his place in the starting lineup this season. He can be a gamechanger when in top form, but he's looked lost at times with Inter this season, unable to recapture his electricity from the last time he played in Italy. As time goes by, Lukaku is proving a very tactically specific player, and if the squad doesn't play exactly to his strengths, he struggles to have an impact.
Also missing out is Edin Dzeko, who at 37 continues to prove doubters wrong. Had this list been six or seven players, he likely would have made the cut, but don't let his absence fool you — he could make all the difference if he crops up in front of Ederson's goal on Saturday.
Inter have a host of quality defenders, and not all could make the list. Stefan de Vrij has been vitally important to this squad through his Inter career, but he lost his place in the side for long stretches of the season and it's unclear whether he will even be selected to start the Champions League final.
In the middle, Marcelo Brozovic is a brute-force type player alongside Nicolo Barella, and he's come on strong at the end of the season with a goal and five assists in the team's final eight matches. Still, at 30 years old, he's no longer the top target he once was, and his disciplinary record is a weakness.
Finally, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is another key figure for Inter, as evident by his 3,330 minutes this season, but his direct goal contribution output was low, with just five goals and two assists across all competitions, and a hamstring injury may leave him sidelined for this match in any case.
