Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez has received some criticism for a wasteful performance in front of goal against Atletico Madrid.
Today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, give the 26-year-old a score of 5/10 in the player ratings for the match, highlighting some missed chances.
In terms of his overall performance yesterday, Inter captain Martinez was his usual self.
The Argentine was a combative presence all match long against an Atletico team who were predictably physical and intense.
This meant that Martinez was able to win some useful fouls for the Nerazzurri.
Particularly defender Stefan Savic struggled in some duels with the Inter captain.
And Martinez’s linkup play was solid enough. The 26-year-old moved around the pitch a lot, and had some tidy first touches to keep the ball moving in the final third.
But one thing that Martinez was unable to do was score.
Lautaro Martinez Criticized For Wasteful Finishing Vs Atletico
This season, Martinez has scored 22 goals in all competitions.
The former Racing Club striker leads the way in the Serie A goalscoring charts, and by some distance.
Therefore, Martinez would have been the favourite to score a goal for Inter in yesterday’s Champions League round of sixteen first leg, at least on paper.
And the striker did have a couple of very good chances.
But both finishes were weak. In the first, Martinez found himself in a very good position but couldn’t quite set himself up with his first touch.
The result was an unconvincing blocked shot which went out for a corner.
And then when Martinez found himself through on goal with plenty of time to decide on a finish following an Atletico giveaway in midfield, the Inter captain fluffed his lines.
The Argentine’s shot was straight at Colchoneros keeper Jan Oblak.
Martinez’s teammate Marko Arnautovic, also the author of a couple big misses, was on hand to turn in the rebound.
But from Martinez it was a bit of a disappointing night in front of goal.
