Inter Milan wingback Denzel Dumfries feels that Lautaro Martinez was not able to get on the scoresheet against Benfica yesterday because of his four-goal haul against Benfica over the weekend.
The Dutchman joked after the Nerazzurri’s Champions League victory yesterday evening, speaking to UEFA TV via FCInterNews.
Inter captain Martinez had a remarkable match against Salernitana on Saturday evening.
The 26-year-old made headlines by scoring four goals in the second half against the Granata.
This was made all the more impressive by the fact that Martinez had come on as a substitute. He had less than 45 minutes in which to score, but still did so four times.
This was in fact the first time that a substitute had netted four times in a Serie A match during the three-points-for-a-win era.
Against Benfica yesterday, on the other hand, it was not a good night for Martinez in front of goal.
The Argentine won’t complain too much. Inter did end up getting the three points in the end, courtesy of a goal from his strike partner Marcus Thuram.
But for Martinez, there would be no repeat of Saturday’s heroics.
The Nerazzurri captain hit the woodwork on two occasions. And Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin made a couple of truly outstanding saves to deny Martinez.
But none of the Argentine’s efforts hit the back of the net.
Dumfries Joke Martinez Couldn’t Scored Vs Benfica After Four Goals Vs Salernitana
Reacting to the lack of a goal for Martinez, Dumfries joked “Maybe it was because he scored so many goals against Salernitana on the weekend!”
“That’s why the ball didn’t want to go in for him this evening,” the Dutchman said with a laugh.
Dumfries noted that “In the first half we waited to find spaces to counter.”
“In the second, we attacked from start to finish,” he continued.
“We have different ways of playing,” Dumfries said.
“I think it was a very good performance overall, and we definitely deserved to score more goals in the second half.”
