Inter needed an injection of energy and cutting edge in the final third in the second half yesterday evening’s 3-1 Serie A win over Spezia, and they got it from Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Sanchez.
This according to to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, who highlight the importance of the duo to the victory and praise Simone Inzaghi for getting the attacking change right.
Inzaghi decided to go with Joaquin Correa and Edin Dzeko from the start in Liguria, the same two who had started last weekend’s win over Hellas Verona.
The team looked fine in the first half and were good value for the 1-0 lead going into the break, but the coach noticed that the two starting forwards were not troubling the Spezia goal to go on and get a second.
He decided to turn to the bench and put on Sanchez, who had not played since the return from the international break, and Martinez, who had been suspended against Verona, in place of the starting pair.
Inzaghi was rewarded for the substitution, with Martinez scoring an excellently-taken goal not long after being introduced to make it 2-0 and then turning provider in the dying minutes, assisting Sanchez to kill off the game.
The two substitutes’ contributions proved to be vital to securing the three points, as between their two goals the home side had gotten a goal back of their own, but this proved to be nothing more than a consolation.