Isolated & Tired – Inter Milan Stars In Italy Backline Look Ragged In EURO 2024 Collapse Vs Switzerland

Inter Milan defenders Alessandro Bastoni and Matteo Darmian looked “isolated” and “tired” in the Italy defense against Switzerland.

Today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, give the pair scores of 5/10 and 4.5/10 respectively in the player ratings for the disastrous EURO 2024 match.

Bastoni and Darmian both started in defense for Italy against Switzerland in yesterday’s EURO 2024 round of sixteen match.

The former was at the heart of Italy’s defense, as he has been throughout the tournament.

It was Roma’s Gianluca Mancini who partnered Bastoni, with Riccardo Calafiori serving a one-match suspension.

Then, the versatile Darmian started on the left of the defense in place of club teammate Federico Dimarco.

Darmian had started on the right against Croatia in Italy’s final group stage match. But he had finished that match on the left.

Inter Pair Bastoni & Darmian Not Up To Par In Ragged Italy Defense Vs Switzerland

In the case of Bastoni, the Corriere give the 25-year-old a score of 5/10.

In the group stage, Bastoni had been one of Italy’s outstanding players. He looked every bit the player who would marshal the Azzurri defense into the future after the retirement of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.

Bastoni had looked rock solid even with a sometimes turbulent Italy team around him in the group stage.

But without Calafiori beside him, yesterday proved to be a bridge to far for the Nerazzurri defender.

For the Gazzetta, it was not necessarily a woeful performance from Bastoni individually.

But the 25-year-old failed to show the leadership to form the slapdash back four into something equal to even the sum of its parts.

Meanwhile, on the left Inter defender Darmian struggled against Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye.

The 34-year-old looked “tired” in the view of the Corriere. Moreover, he was playing out of his comfort zone.