The “perennially underrated” Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez gave a “Ballon d’Or” worthy performance against Bayern Munich.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews.

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez put in an outstanding display against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old scored the first goal in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg. And he did so in brilliant fashion, with a first-time outside-of-the-boot finish.

But that trivela foal was really only the crowning moment on what had been a stellar performance overall from the Inter captain.

Martinez put in the hard yards for the team. He never gave Bayern defender Kim Min-Jae a moment’s peace, and was instrumental in Inter’s flowing front-to-back possession moves.

Lautaro Martinez Gives “Ballon D’Or Worthy Display” Vs Bayern Munich

Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan
MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 08: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Marcus Thuram during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano at Fussball Arena Muenchen on April 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

In the view of the Corriere, Martinez was at the level of the very best strikers in Europe with his performance.

At the other end of the pitch, England captain Harry Kane was hardly at his best.

Martinez, though, showed that when he is on form, there are virtually no other strikers in Europe who are at the same level as him.

For the Corriere, it was the kind of performance that would make Ballon d’Or shouts inevitable.

There was a perception around Inter that Martinez was snubbed the last time around.

The Inter captain finished a respectable seventh in the most recent voting. But that was not really all that high for a player who’d led Inter to a dominant Serie A title. As the league’s top scorer.

Perhaps the biggest reason that Martinez hasn’t quite received the biggest European accolades has been that he has not really transferred his domestic form to Europe.

The Champions League is ultimately the biggest showcase for top footballers on the continent.

And to date, Martinez has not generally reserved his best performances for that competition.

But performances like Tuesday’s will go a long way towards rectifying that.