Sampdoria 2-1 Inter: Player ratings Antonio Conte's side suffer title blow

Inter slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sampdoria on Wednesday afternoon at a rain soaked Luigi Ferraris, as they missed a chance to leapfrog arch rivals Milan at the top of Serie A.

First half goals from Inter loanee Antonio Candreva and Keita Balde saw Claudio Ranieri's side win out, despite a second half effort from Stefan de Vrij halving the deficit. The defeat for Antonio Conte's side brought their ten month unbeaten away run in Serie A to an end.

With a chance to go top of the table, Inter started brightly and were awarded a penalty courtesy of yet another contentious VAR decision, as referee Paolo Valeri judged Morten Thorsby to have handled from an Inter corner. Alexis Sanchez's tame effort was saved and Ashley Young could only hit the bar with the follow up.

Candreva netted from the spot himself for Samp before Keita's goal would prove to be the winner in a very frustrating afternoon for a wasteful Inter, whose title hopes have taken a big dent. Here's how the players rated.

Inter

1. Goalkeepers and Defenders

Samir Handanovic (GK) - 6/10 - Helpless to stop his former teammate scoring from the penalty spot. Perhaps disappointed not to have done better with the second goal. Made a key save to prevent Ranieri's side going 3-0 up.

Milan Skriniar (CB) - 6/10 - Playing against his former side, rifled a shot just wide early on. Defended well.

Stefan de Vrij (CB) - 6/10 - Captain's goal with a towering header for Inter. Looked like it may be the first in a famous comeback, but wasn't to be.

Alessandro Bastoni - 6/10 - Caught square on as Mikkel Damsgaard scampered past him to set up Sampdoria's second. Carried the ball out from defence in typical style.

2. Wing-backs and Midfielders

Achraf Hakimi (RWB) - 7/10 - Inter's danger man, delivering some wonderful crosses that were wasted by teammates. Electric pace and trickery.

Nicolo Barella (CM) - 6/10 - Penalised for handball despite claiming it hit his face. Otherwise kept Inter ticking over nicely.

Marcelo Brozovic (CM) - 6/10 - Covered well defensively - when others were caught sleeping he was alert. Neat and tidy.

Roberto Gagliardini (CM) - 5/10 - Not much impact on a game where he was sacrificed for Lukaku midway through the second half.

Ashley Young (LWB) - 6/10 - Only a great save from Emil Audero prevented a good strike flying into the top corner early on. Also had penalty rebound crash off the bar.

3. Forwards

Alexis Sanchez (ST) - 4/10 - Looked out of sorts. Had a poor penalty saved, and wasteful on other occasions. Has a tendency to look very busy without ever actually doing very much.

Lautaro Martinez (ST) - 6/10 - Will be disappointed not to have done better with a header at the end of the first half. Didn't look in sync with Sanchez. Had a few half chances in the second half that he snatched at.

4. Substitutes

Ivan Perisic (LWB) - 5/10 - Came on and immediately offered more natural width than Young, but overhit several crosses- perhaps justifying Conte's preference of Young.

Romelu Lukaku (ST) - 6/10 - Linked up well with Martinez, showing what Conte's team had been missing in the first half. Had a good header saved.

Christian Eriksen (CAM) - 5/10 - Denied a dream free kick equaliser which crashed against the wall. Looks ready to move on.

Danilo D'Ambrosio (CB) - N/A

Arturo Vidal (CM) - N/A