Lautaro Martinez relies on positive derby tradition to end goal drought | OneFootball

Lautaro Martinez has been far from his standards in Inter‘s first five matches of the season, but the Nerazzurri hope his positive record in the Derby della Madonnina against Milan will help the Argentinean end his goal drought.

Lautaro has yet to score this season and started on the bench in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Manchester City.

However, he often looks inspired when the Nerazzurri face Milan and his positive record against the city foes could become a factor as the pressure to see his name back on the scoresheet increases with every passing game.

Lautaro hopes to end goal drought boosted by positive derby record

Lautaro Martinez scored eight goals from 16 matches against Milan across four different competitions, which are Serie A, Champions League, Coppa Italia and the Italian Supercup.

The striker didn’t score in any of the two Serie A fixtures played last year, although he gave a relevant contribution to his side’s 5-1 thrashing in September 2023 by delivering two assists.

Despite finishing the past Serie A season as the league’s top scorer, with 24 goals scored in 33 domestic games, Lautaro’s dip in goal-scoring consistency had already started in the final part of the last campaign.

His net in a 5-0 win at Frosinone in the third-last game of the season marked the only time he found the net since March 2024.

He’s not broken the scoring drought since, failing to get the ball into the back of the net in all three Serie A matches played so far, as he missed his side’s first home game against Lecce through injury.

His display in Inter’s latest league fixture at Monza was so under par that he was subbed off after 56 minutes, also persuading coach Simone Inzaghi to start him from the bench in the following match against Manchester City.

Lautaro’s current poor form is being traced back to his inability to have a proper rest after an extremely busy season. He played 44 games with the Nerazzurri before joining Argentina for the 2024 Copa America, during which he took part in every match, scoring five goals and winning the trophy as the best scorer of the tournament.