Inter Milan & Argentina Superstar Must Silence Detractors After Poor Start To Season

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez will have to silence his detractors after an extremely poor start to the season.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.

It is virtually impossible for a player to escape criticism in football.

For even the very best players, there are periods of bad form, or recurring flaws that see them under fire from time to time.

In the case of Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, one of the biggest issues has been the perception of streaky form and occasional goal droughts.

The Argentine is certainly prolific. He has been Inter’s top scorer in each of the last three seasons. And last time out he was the top scorer for all of Serie A.

But Martinez’s goals can come in bursts.

And then, the 27-year-old has made a bad habit of going several matches in a row without finding the back of the net.

Moreover, Martinez has sometimes been accused of not scoring in the most important matches.

Particularly in matches against Juventus and matches against the Champions League, the Inter captain has rarely been a decisive influence.

Inter Captain Lautaro Martinez Must Silence Critics After Poor Start To Season

Of course, Martinez has done plenty to shut his critics up.

Last season, the Argentine became Inter’s captain. And in his first season with the armband, he led the team to the Serie A title.

Martinez was not just important for the Nerazzurri with his goals. He was also decisive in setting the tone with his linkup play, defensive workrate, and leadership skills.

Then, in the summer, Martinez was Argentina’s hero at the Copa America.

The Inter captain was the tournament’s top scorer with five goals. This included scoring the winner against Colombia in the final.

However, at the start of this season Martinez has looked a shadow of the striker he is at his best.

The 27-year-old has looked tired and lacked sharpness. Particularly in the penalty area.

Martinez did grab his first assist of the campaign, for Federico Dimarco’s goal in the derby against AC Milan.

However, in terms of goals, Martinez has not scored in any of the five matches he’s played in.

And in fact, that scoreless run stretches back to last season.

Martinez had been on pace to challenge for the Serie A goalscoring record for the first two thirds or so of last campaign.

But in the spring, the Inter captain’s scoring form tailed off dramatically.

The only goal that Martinez scored for Inter after the start of March was the fourth in a 5-0 thrashing of relegated Frosinone that came after Inter had clinched the Serie A title.

It’s now been seventeen matches for Inter in which that was the captain’s only goal.

Therefore, the criticism of Martinez is getting louder. And the Argentine will feel that it is past due that he answers his detractors.