Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez offered an honest assessment of last night’s incident between Marcos Acuna and Denzel Dumfries.
During a post-match interview via FCInterNews, El Toro reviewed a heated altercation between the two defenders.
Cristian Chivu’s side posted a crucial win over River Plate to secure a top spot in their FIFA Club World Cup group.
Though a 2-0 scoreline gives the impression of conviction, Inter had to work their socks off at Lumen Field.
Indeed, Marcelo Gallardo’s men proved why many consider them among the fiercest competitors in world football.
Despite being no match to Inter’s technical and tactical prowess, River Plate made up for those shortcomings with a spirited display.
Even that would be an understatement.
For context, the Argentines committed 20 fouls and earned two red cards in another ill-tempered fixture.
However, on-field tensions escalated only after the final whistle.
Lautaro Martinez Delivers Verdict on Denzel Dumfries vs Marcos Acuna Conflict
Marcos Acuna insulted Denzel Dumfries in the locker rooms, with many suspecting racial abuse.
However, Lautaro admits these things happen on the football pitches.
“Was there a racial slur from the Argentine? I don’t know, I was on the bench,” he stated.
“I spoke with him, and it ended there. These are things that happen on the pitch. I don’t know anything else.”
Whether he was only defending his countryman out of loyalty, Lautaro chose not to escalate the matter.
Meanwhile, he hailed Inter’s grit and determination.
“River ran out of energy in the second half,” El Toro added. “That was the key.
“We managed to build up our attacks well, finding space between the lines that allowed us to create chances and score goals.
“Having a man advantage matters in today’s game, and we played a great match,” he concluded.
Acuna was clearly out of control in the second half. The referee was grossly incompetent and the fact that Acuna didn’t even receive a yellow card is incomprehensible. We were running a risk of having someone seriously injured in the last 20 minutes. River Plate has gone mad. Bastoni skipped out of three or four consecutive wild tackles on the way to his goal- which only made it that much sweeter
Correct! Scumbag Acunha should have been sent off, but didn’t even get a yellow. River Plate and their fans are total trash.
Ikr but what happening to Bastoni, he is looking great going forward also in the game vs urawa reds he puit in some good crosses