Inter Milan vs. St Etienne: Winners and Losers from Europa League Game
Inter Milan and Saint-Etienne played out a 0-0 Europa League draw in the San Siro on Thursday night, in a match that was tense but lacking in any real drama.
Neither side had conceded a goal in their first two games in the group, so a breakthrough was always going to be hard to come by.
The French team, in fact, have now recorded three 0-0 results in a row in the competition, while Inter can still be happy with their position in Group F following their two wins in the first two games.
Here are the winners and losers from a fairly dour affair.
Loser: Mauro Icardi
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After looking good in the early part of the season, Mauro Icardi has lost his scoring touch for Inter at the moment.
The Argentine youngster is still regularly chosen by coach Walter Mazzarri to lead the Nerazzurri attack, but he has thus far failed to score in the Europa League group stages and has not scored in Serie A since his hat-trick against Sassuolo on September 14.
Against Saint-Etienne, he led the line well and looked threatening at times but once again could not register a goal.
He will need to start finding the net or he won't be the manager's favourite for much longer.
Winners: The Goalkeepers
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Both goalkeepers deserve considerable credit for keeping this match scoreless.
Saint-Etienne's Stephane Ruffier probably had less to do, though when called upon, he was flawless. His low save from a Zdravko Kuzmanovic shot in the 63rd minute was of the highest quality.
Juan Pablo Carrizo is proving a valuable backup for Samir Handanovic this season. He was called on to make a brilliant intervention just before half-time from a powerful Tabanou effort, and he foiled the same player again in the 68th minute, as well as making a number of other key saves.
Loser: Ricky van Wolfswinkel
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Like Icardi, Ricky van Wolfswinkel was something of a blunt weapon on Thursday evening.
Norwich City fans will be used to see him trudging off without a goal to his name, and that was the case again against Inter.
He was rarely involved in the game and was subbed off in the 65th minute.
Winner: Moustapha Sall
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It is hard to be too critical of Inter's attacking players when they had to come up against a force of nature in Moustapha Sall.
The centre-back was positionally perfect all night, and when he was called upon to break down an Inter attack, he used his massive frame to full effect.
The veteran Senegalese was close to perfect and was arguably the man of the match.
Loser: Yann M'Vila
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Through no fault of his own, Yann M'Vila was unable to complete the full 90 minutes after being forced off with a thigh injury in the 54th minute.
The Frenchman has been battling for a starting spot this season with the likes of Gary Medel and Joel Obi, so he would have been relishing the chance to take on a club from his own country in the Europa League.
He was playing well, too, at the base of midfield, which makes it all even more of a shame for him to have to exit the game early.
