Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram at heart of Inter’s Real Madrid test | OneFootball

Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have clicked back into gear as Inter Milan travel to Madrid to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday at 21:00.

Inter’s last victory at the Santiago Bernabéu came on 22 May 2010, when Diego Milito struck twice to beat Bayern 2-0 in the final. Martinez dreams of a repeat and even turned down Barcelona’s approach this summer. Back then Milito partnered Samuel Eto’o, today the captain is closely tied to Thuram.

Team-mates since summer 2023, the pair led a rally against Napoli on Saturday, from 0-2 to 3-2, with a Martinez double and the Frenchman on the scoresheet. José Mourinho, now in charge of Real Madrid and Inter’s coach that night 16 years ago, has been warned.

Cristian Chivu, the left-back starter in 2010, bridges the eras. “We have a duty to keep writing important pages in Inter’s history,” he said on Monday.

“Physically, he is getting better. Above all, he is more confident after his first goal,” Chivu said of Thuram, speaking to Sky Italia.

“We have forwards who are more effective in certain situations. Esposito is better in the box and with his back to goal, Marcus runs in behind and Lautaro contributes more to the build-up. We think about each player’s characteristics and what a match asks for.”

For the biggest occasions, the Martinez-Thuram partnership keeps the edge.

Source: L'Équipe

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