Petar Sucic shines on Inter Milan debut at San Siro

The Croatian midfielder was the only debutant chosen by Cristian Chivu in the season opener against Torino, delivering a standout performance

Petar Sucic was the only debutant fielded by Cristian Chivu in Inter Milan’s Serie A opener against Torino. 

The Croatian midfielder lit up San Siro with a performance worthy of a veteran. Having arrived this summer from Dinamo Zagreb, he left his mark on the 5-0 win thanks to a mix of aggression, quality, and personality.

Chivu’s midfield options without Calhanoglu give Inter Milan flexibility

“With a Sucic like this, Hakan Calhanoglu will have to work hard to reclaim his starting spot. 

At San Siro, for the league debut, he did not play because he was suspended. In his absence, his teammates showed they could do perfectly well without him. 

Nicolò Barella took over the role of deep-lying playmaker. And it is possible, if not even likely, that this midfield configuration could be tried again,” noted Repubblica via Fcinter1908.

“It is not certain that Chivu will always want to play with a 3-5-2 formation, but in his Serie A debut on the Inter Milan bench he showed that he could manage without the regular regista. 

The only other pure playmaker in the squad was Asllani, who in the meantime had moved to Torino. For the rest, the new Inter Milan coach has only mezzali: Barella and Mkhitaryan, who started, but also Zielinski, Frattesi and the latest arrival Diouf. 

And then Sucic, who when asked if he was proud to have made such a debut in Serie A, replied in Italian: ‘Solo prima partita’ — ‘Only first match’.