Lautaro Martinez Is Morphing Into A World-Class Talent
Emmet analyses the rapid progression of Inter's top scorer
Another Inter game, another Inter victory, and another goal from Lautaro Martinez.
The slender 1-0 win against Fiorentina was marred by controversy, with the Argentine striker seemingly bundling over Fiorentina defender Fabiano Parisi in the build up to the goal. It was Martinez’s 19th goal in Serie A this season — in as many games, and the striker is arguably one of the best in Europe at present.
Martinez is revelling as the leading man at Inter. Following the departures of Romelu Lukaku (twice) and Edin Dzeko, the pressure fell on the 26-year-old’s shoulders. Martinez’s role had been to serve frontmen like Dzeko and Lukaku at Inter, and while he did that well, he’s developed even more now as the leading man.
Despite the arrival of Marcus Thuram, the Inter sun revolves around Martinez, and Thuram’s presence arguably compliments Martinez better than either Dzeko or Lukaku. Both players are quick and can operate in the channels or in the box, this allows one to sit in the area while the other roams. This has made Inter more unpredictable in attack compared to prior years and it’s one of the reasons why the club should be taken seriously as genuine Champions League contenders.
Martinez is now in the top 10 goalscorers in Inter’s history, with his goal against Fiorentina equalling fellow Argentine Mauro Icardi and surpassing Christian Vieri. Yet for all their goals, Vieri won a lone Coppa Italia and Icardi nothing at Inter, while Martinez has already secured six pieces of silverware for the Neazzurri, including Serie A in 2020-21.