AC Milan

3.13

• 
  324

  43

  3.00

  Christian Abbiati

  Despite being unable to keep out Sneijder’s free-kick, he was rarely troubled otherwise. Came out well to take crosses and organised his back four efficiently.

• 
  306

  49

  3.00

  Gianluca Zambrotta

  Not put under as much pressure as Abate, but dealt with Zanetti very well when he needed to. Found Castaignos more difficult to handle near the end.

• 
  371

  43

  3.00

  Alessandro Nesta

  Did well to cover when Eto’o got through in the first half and generally kept the Cameroonian quiet thereafter.

• 
  497

  25

  3.00

  Thiago Silva

  Excellent when called upon, even knocking Eto’o out of his stride with a touch when he’d seemingly been beaten in the first half.

• 
  387

  50

  3.00

  Ignazio Abate

  Was troubled regularly by the trickery of Obi, but kept at it. His cross saw Ibrahimovic head against the post, then he delivered a dangerous long ball which Pato dealt with superbly as Boateng struck the winner.

• 
  497

  38

  3.50

  Clarence Seedorf

  Did a superb job in helping to change the game in the second half having failed to really have any impact before the break. Kept his cool to set up Ibrahimovic for the first goal, and his trickery almost opened the way for a third.

• 
  350

  60

  3.00

  Mark van Bommel

  His screening job in front of the back four was much of the reason why Inter made few clear cut chances during their period of dominance in the first half-hour. He’s changed Milan immeasurably for the better since arriving in January.

• 
  260

  179

  2.50

  Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

  Many will claim he was lucky to stay on the field after his foul on Obi which led to Sneijder’s goal, especially as he’d been booked only moments before. His tigerish battling in front of the defence still cannot be matched though.

• 
  459

  42

  3.00

  Kevin-Prince Boateng

  Without really having the effect of a traditional trequartista, he ended up having the final say with the winning goal when following up with a striker’s instinct.

• 
  853

  65

  4.00

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic Top of the Match

  Irrepressible. It wasn’t classic Ibra who stepped on the Beijing turf today, but he had so much of a say anyway. A superb flick pass should have been finished off by Robinho, before he steered a header onto the post. Then turned up in the right place at the right time to equalise.

• 
  348

  120

  3.00

  Robinho

  Didn’t convince to begin with, and should have buried a chance from Ibrahimovic’s flicked pass, but then his delightful lofted pass for Seedorf broke Inter’s resistance. It proved to be his last act, but meant he also had the last laugh.

Substitutions

• 
  295

  31

  0.00

  Urby Emanuelson

  Successfully reinforced the rearguard for the final 10 minutes.

• 
  228

  51

  0.00

  Massimo Ambrosini

  Brought on for Gattuso at 2-1.

• 
  620

  36

  3.50

  Alexandre Pato

  Took down Abate’s ball superbly and shot on the turn to create the winner. This was a substitute appearance of real impact.

FC Internazionale

3.04

• 
  81

  140

  3.00

  Julio César

  Could do little about either goal as he was left stranded by his defenders. Closed down Seedorf to no avail on the first, before getting a desperate finger to Pato’s effort on the winner.

• 
  97

  256

  2.50

  Cristian Chivu Flop of the Match

  The weak link of the back three. Both goals came from slackness on the left for Inter, though in fairness he didn’t have the protection on the left that Ranocchia had on the right.

• 
  121

  115

  3.00

  Walter Adrian Samuel

  In his first full competitive game since his knee injury last November he showed signs that he could yet have a renaissance at the top. Big, brave and strong, he showed signs of the old Samuel.

• 
  90

  143

  3.00

  Andrea Ranocchia

  A much better display than those he became known for in the second half of last season, yet still he had trouble keeping a lid on Ibrahimovic.

• 
  147

  110

  3.00

  Ricardo Gabriel Álvarez

  Looked much more suited to the attacking central role than he has appeared as a wide forward in pre-season, but his lack of defensive endeavour didn’t help his side, and it will now be down to Gasperini to ascertain his best position.

• 
  61

  176

  3.00

  Thiago Motta

  Started well enough, and looked much better having been given space to get forward as opposed to the defensive role in which he was employed under Leonardo last term, but eventually proved a little short of the required creativity.

• 
  281

  94

  3.50

  Obi

  Turned in an excellent display, running hard at Abate and stretching the Milan defence for much of the opening half. Quieter in the second half as Inter themselves were asked questions, but he did enough to deserve another crack.

• 
  66

  159

  3.00

  Dejan Stankovic

  Had a decent crack at opening up Milan, but when he doesn’t have his shooting boots on he can sometimes appear short of what’s needed in a top class midfield.

• 
  89

  134

  3.00

  Javier Adelmar Zanetti

  Not vintage Zanetti, but that can be excused given that he only recently returned from the Copa America and is also approaching his 38th birthday.

• 
  82

  190

  3.00

  Eto'o

  Not his old self today. Got into a good position in the first half but was foiled by a mix of Thiago Silva and Nesta, and then failed to at least get a shot on target from Castaignos’ excellent cross late on.

• 
  324

  141

  3.50

  Wesley Sneijder

  Could easily have been a match-winner. With all of the talk about his future before the game he could have been forgiven for being distracted, but his superb goal was only the start of his true contribution. Calcio will miss him when he’s gone.

Substitutions

• 
  60

  145

  3.00

  Marco Faraoni

  Replaced Alvarez on the hour, and although he made one excellent tackle on Pato his passing was often misplaced.

• 
  72

  134

  0.00

  Giampaolo Pazzini

  Replaced Stankovic for a final push, but nothing came of it.

• 
  130

  113

  0.00

  Luc Castaignos

  Only got 10 minutes of action, but his cross for Eto’o and working over of Zambrotta suggested he has big things ahead of him in the Inter shirt.