Among all the highlights announced by the final between Inter Milan and Seville, one of the juiciest was being able to see how the Koundé – Diego Carlos couple was going to be able to stop the interista duo formed by Lautaro and Lukaku that Such good returns had been given to Conte so far.
It was also the first final for both Sevilla defenders who, in this unusual season, have emerged as true revelations both in LaLiga and in Europe and tonight, in Cologne, they again showed why.
Especially Jules Koundé. The very young French defender (21 years old), present on Real Madrid's agenda, literally “dried up” a Lautaro Martínez who is also marked in red in Barcelona's. Perhaps it was an appetizer of what is expected in future Classics. But while Lukaku was able to get away from his marker Diego Carlos a little more, the Argentine accustomed to moving behind the Belgian and who tonight had the Parisian boy as a shadow, already a favorite son of the city of Seville, could not do so.
Plenty of conditions to shine
Jules Koundé's chair against Inter in general and Lautaro in particular was a defense chair that fueled even more interest from the big clubs that have already set their sights on him. Without being the tallest, (178 cm) he was confident in the aerial balls, he was the fastest in the divided actions and he showed something more than ease when taking the ball from behind. Always accurate, punctual and impeccable at the junction. His mission was not to give Lautaro newspaper covers in Italy and ended up sending him to the critics column.
He thus signed a final that is worth to give volume to his enormous potential in the making and that announces that under that strident ‘afro’ style hairstyle there is a center-back for many years in France, although perhaps not for so many in the Sánchez Pizjuán.