http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/intermilan/id/1468?cc=5901


Man of the Match: Mateo Kovacic


After an impressive performance against Fiorentina in midweek, Mazzarri put Mateo Kovacic in the starting line-up and the 19-year-old Croatian responded with his best game of the season with Kovacic hardly putting a foot wrong all day.

Kovacic was all over the field against Cagliari, and was especially active in the middle to right side of the Inter attack. As a midfielder player in Walter Mazzarri's system, it is not just about going forward, you also need to defend and Kovacic did his bit, back tracking and defending in Inter's half of the field.

Kovacic's 83 touches were a team high, as was his 94% passing accuracy. Passing accuracy numbers can be deceiving at times as they can depend where on the pitch the passes are taking place.

What makes Kovacic's passing data so impressive is that almost all of his passes took place in the Cagliari half of the pitch.