Inter had striker Lautaro Martinez to thank for avoiding another disappointing result in Serie A, after the Argentine led them to a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona yesterday.
As reported in today’s newspaper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Simone Inzaghi’s side would have been left ruing more dropped points against the relegation battlers had Martinez not been in such good form.
The former Racing Club striker scored after just three minutes to settle the match at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, but the newspaper warned that Inzaghi had been relying on Martinez as his other stars have either underperformed or not been fit enough to contribute.
Midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella were out with injury, although the latter was fit enough to take a spot on the bench and feature in the second half, whilst wingback Denzel Dumfries is struggling with a fitness issue from the World Cup.
Meanwhile, fellow striker Romelu Lukaku has endured a disastrous return to Inter from Chelsea on loan, with his form and fitness abandoning him.
Martinez has carried the weight of Inter’s reliance recently, and has contributed to 12 of the club’s 38 goals this season with nine strikes and three assists.
Despite all of this, Inter are being viewed as the closest challengers to runaway league leaders Napoli, particularly after AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Lecce, and Juventus were thrashed 5-1 by the Partenopei.