The penalty-taking hierarchy at Inter Milan was clear during yesterday evening’s 5-1 derby win over AC Milan.

This is noted by today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who observe that Nerazzurri midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu rebuffed the request from his captain Lautaro Martinez to take the penalty that made it 4-1.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has already confirmed that Hakan Calhanoglu is Inter’s first-choice penalty-taker this season.

The Turk is the player in the Nerazzurri squad with the best record from the spot.

Meanwhile, Martinez has also taken his share of penalties for Inter. And he has scored quite a few of them, but also missed important ones such as his failed effort against Spezia last season.

Therefore, there looks to be a clear hierarchy.

Hakan Calhanoglu is the man who Inter will turn to in order to get the job done from the spot.

Even with a hierarchy like the one that Inter have, however, there can be some flexibility.

Naturally, Calhanoglu will be the player who steps up to take the most decisive penalties. When scoring could mean the difference between a loss and a draw, or a draw and a win, it looks as though the former AC Milan man will always be first-choice.

Penalty-Taking Hierarchy At Inter Milan Clear After Calhanoglu Rebuffs Lautaro Request Against AC Milan

But by the time Inter had won a penalty in yesterday’s derby, they were already 3-1 up on city rivals Milan.

Therefore, even if the penalty hadn’t gone in, it wouldn’t necessarily have been the end of the world for the Nerazzurri.

And Martinez had some legitimate reasons to want to take the effort.

First of all, it had been the Argentine who had actually won the spot kick, with Milan left-back Theo Hernandez fouling him.

And moreover, Martinez already looks like an early front-runner to be top scorer in Serie A.

The 26-year-old had scored five goals in Inter’s first three matches of the season.

But Martinez had not scored against Milan. And so naturally he’ll have felt the likes of Victor Osimhen, Dusan Vlahovic, Ciro Immobile, and Olivier Giroud among others breathing down his neck already despite his blazing start to the season.

A spot kick could represent a perfect opportunity for Martinez to get his goal and continue setting the pace at the top of the Serie A scoring charts.

Therefore, Martinez asked Calhanoglu if he could take the penalty against Milan. In the view of the Gazzetta, it was a perfectly legitimate request.

But Calhanoglu decided to tell Martinez no.

Even with Martinez wearing the captain’s armband, it was up to Calhanoglu to decide. And the Argentine respected his teammate’s decision.

Calhanoglu scored to make it 4-1.

Perhaps a miss from the spot could’ve given Milan a route back into the match. But Calhanoglu made no mistake.