A win for I Nerazzurri in Matchday 7 of this 2023/2024 Italian Serie A Season would see them go top in the league table, and Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez made sure Simone Inzaghi’s side capitalised on the golden opportunity. The 26-year-old Martínez was brought on by his 47-year-old manager in the 55th minute of the game between Inter Milan and US Salernitana 1919 at the latter’s turf of Stadio Arechi, with the FIFA World Cup-winning forward from Argentina not disappointing the trust given by his head coach and delivering all four goals in Inter’s monumental victory over the bottom-half Italian outfit.
Lautaro Martínez Started From the Bench
Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez was given a rest from his usual starting role for Inzaghi’s I Nerazzurri in this away match versus US Salernitana 1919, as the Italian manager made five changes to his starting lineup that was defeated by U.S. Sassuolo Calcio last time around. The home side were also looking forward to bounce back from their recent loss to Empoli in this game, having made four changes to the initial lineup.
It was all square for most part of the match between US Salernitana 1919 and I Nerazzurri, and this prompted Inzaghi to rely on his Inter Milan captain once again, bringing on Martínez for the returning 34-year-old striker Alexis Sánchez as a 55th-minute substitute. The 26-year-old Argentine FIFA World Cup winner wasted no time to make his presence felt against the bottom-half opponents, and scored the opener just seven minutes after his introduction to the match. Martínez combined with new summer signing Marcus Thuram in an attack, before the Inter Milan captain netted his seventh goal of the season.
The goal went on to kickstart a scoring spree for Martínez, who proceeded to score in the 77th, 85th and 89th minutes of the match. The Inter Milan captain’s second of the evening came when Dutch wing-back Denzel Dumfries muscled his way through the US Salernitana 1919 defence, before Martínez sent the ball wide for Nicolò Barella. The Italian midfielder’s first-time cross found his skipper to double Inter’s lead in the match.
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10 Goals in Eight Matches for the Inter Milan Captain
US Salernitana 1919’s day went from bad to worse when they were forced to give away a penalty to the visitors, who were already 2-0 up in the final stage of the match. Thuram was put down by young centre-back Matteo Lovato in the box and Martínez coolly sent the goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to the wrong way en route to completing his emphatic hat-trick as a substitute. But that was not all from the Inter Milan captain.
Just when everyone thought the game was going to end with Inter being the 3-0 winner, the 26-year-old Bahía Blanca-born star striker Martínez made it four for I Nerazzurri a minute prior to the added time. A few players from Inzaghi’s visiting side combined again for another team play, allowing Martínez to slot home the last of his quadruple in this game. The goal is the Inter Milan captain’s 10th in eight matches in all competitions, and his heroics meant Inter are now back to the top of the Italian Serie A this season.
Inter Milan Captain: First and Only Sub to Net Four Goals in a Serie A Match
When asked about being the first and only player to score four times in a Serie A game after coming on as a replacement, the 26-year-old Inter captain Martínez was humble with his achievement and stressed about the importance of the victory against US Salernitana 1919. He said: “I scored four goals but the important thing is that Inter won the game. It was crucial for us. We lost a game at San Siro that I don’t think we deserved but we conceded two goals from our errors, so we had to win today.”
On the other hand, Martínez’s club head coach at Inter Milan Inzaghi had nothing but praises for his captain fantastic in this match. The 47-year-old hailed Martínez’s performance for the night and his abilities being a leader and captain on and off the field. Inzaghi also wished that his skipper can continue to perform at this level in many games to come.
Inter to Face S.L. Benfica in the UEFA Champions League
Inzaghi and Martínez’s Inter Milan will host second-placed Primeira Liga side S.L. Benfica at San Siro in the UEFA Champions League this midweek, as the I Nerazzurri now look forward to earn their first victory in this season’s competition. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad in the Group D opener last time around.
