Italian club Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku both scored as Inter beat Atalanta 3-2 in matchday 37, securing a top-four finish in Serie A this season.
At their home stadium, Giuseppe Meazza, Inter launched an early offensive and opened the scoring with their very first attack. Before the first minute had passed, Martinez threaded a pass through the Atalanta defense, allowing Lukaku to break free, beat goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, and slot the ball into an empty net. This was the Belgian striker's fourth consecutive Serie A goal, after finding the net against Napoli, Sassuolo, and AS Roma.
Lukaku beat goalkeeper Sportiello to score the opening goal in the very first minute of Inter's match against Atalanta at the Meazza stadium on May 27th. Photo: inter.it
Two minutes later, Nicolo Barella doubled the lead with a rebound after Federico Dimarco's angled shot was saved by the Atalanta goalkeeper. Inter scored two goals in the first three minutes of a Serie A match for the first time since their game against Roma on January 5, 1941, with goals from Candiani and Demaria.
After Mario Pasalic pulled one back at the end of the first half, Inter continued to dominate the game in the second half. In the 77th minute, Lukaku shielded the ball in midfield before turning and threading a pass to Marcelo Brozovic, who entered the penalty area. The Croatian midfielder didn't shoot but passed the ball across to Martinez, who tapped it into an empty net to restore the two-goal lead. Martinez became the fourth player to surpass 20 goals per season in the last two seasons in the top five European leagues, alongside Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, and Kylian Mbappe.
Lukaku celebrates with Lautaro after his teammate scored to make it 3-1. Photo: inter.it
In the first minute of added time, after a free kick failed to clear the wall, the ball rebounded to Luis Muriel, who volleyed it into the top corner, hitting the crossbar, then deflecting off Andre Onana and into the net. The goal was counted as an own goal by the Inter goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, the 3-2 victory was enough for Inter to officially finish in the top four and secure a place in next season's Champions League. They moved up to second place with 69 points, eight points ahead of fifth-placed Atalanta with one round remaining. This result allows coach Simone Inzaghi to plan and rest key players for the final match against Torino on June 4th, in order to prepare thoroughly for the Champions League final against Man City on June 10th.
After the match, the Italian coach considered pressing and taking the proactive approach seen against Atalanta as "fundamental" to his tactics for the crucial clash with Man City. He also hoped that injured players including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Milan Skriniar, Joaquin Correa, and Danilo D'Ambrosio would recover in time for the final in Istanbul, Türkiye, in two weeks' time.
"Man City are the strongest club in the world and the top contenders for the title. But we've worked hard to reach the final and we'll give our all. Man City have 23-24 excellent players, so you can't just pick one or two to mark," Inzaghi added, while leaving open the possibility of continuing to field the striker duo of Martinez and Lukaku in the starting lineup.
Starting lineup :
Inter : Onana; D'Ambrosio (Darmian 83), Acerbi, Bastoni (De Vrij 80); Dumfries, Barella (Asllani 81), Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco (Gosens 70); Martinez, Lukaku (Dzeko 80).
Atalanta : Sportiello; Toloi; Djimsiti, Scalvini; Maehle (Okoli 86), De Roon, Ederson (Muriel 69), Zappacosta; Koopmeiners, Hojlund, Pasalic (Lookman 61).
Hong Duy
Source link
Comment (0)