Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has come in for criticism in Italian media for his performance in Argentina’s shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup group stage opener.
The 25-year-old was given a score of just 5.5/10 in the player ratings for the match by Italian news outlet L’Interista, who note that particularly in the second half he was unable to have the desired influence on proceedings.
Martinez went into this tournament with the expectation that he would be one of the Argentine national team’s key men in the final third.
The Inter striker had a decent chance in the first half from which he blazed over the bar, and also had a goal ruled out for an offside in the buildup.
In the second, Martinez seemed to fade from the game after Saudi Arabia shocked the Albiceleste with two goals in fairly quick succession.
The Saudi defensive shape began to look more and more solidifed as the match wore on whilst the Argentines began to rely more and more on crosses into the box rather than more complicated combinations between forwards, whilst Martinez’s holdup play was largely ineffective.
