Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, and Man City’s Erling Haaland have not been shielded from criticism by their goals.
Today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, via FCInterNews, highlight the way that the trio of highly prolific strikers have still found themselves under fire for their form.
Inter captain Martinez is the top scorer in the Serie A goalscoring charts at the moment.
Meanwhile, in Ligue 1 that honour belongs to Paris Saint-German’s Mbappe. And Manchester City striker Erling Haaland holds that honour in the Premier League.
Few would deny the lethal edge that any of the three have had in the penalty area this season.
But for some, the question has been whether or not that’s enough.
Lautaro, Mbappe & Haaland Face Criticism In Spite Of Goals
The criticism of Martinez has focused on the Argentine’s recent goal drought.
That has been arguably the biggest area of Martinez’s game that has faced scrutiny in recent seasons.
This time around, it had seemed that Martinez had finally gotten past that. The 26-year-old has never gone more than a couple matches without a goal prior to the last month.
But it has now been more than a month since the Nerazzurri’s captain has found the back of the net.
That means that it’s been four matches in a row in Serie A without a goal for Serie A. And a crucial Champions League round of sixteen second leg against Atletico Madrid.
That tie against Atletico also put the spotlight on the question of whether Martinez contributes enough on the biggest stage.
That has also been the case for Manchester City’s Haaland.
The Norwegian’s prolific goal return can hardly be denied. But Haaland has often looked like a passenger against top Premier League opposition like Arsenal and Liverpool.
This has raised one or two questions about whether the prolific scoring against weaker opposition is enough from these star strikers if they don’t pop up when it matters most.
Meanwhile, in the case of Mbappe, the PSG striker has faced scrutiny for the seemingly endless soap opera that is set to see him leave the French capital at the end of this season.