Lautaro Martinez double rescues Inter draw at Roma after 2-0 deficit
Inter Milan rescued a 2-2 draw at Roma on Saturday after Lautaro Martinez struck twice in the second half, but the captain warned the Serie A champions cannot keep giving opponents a two-goal start.
Roma led 2-0 before the 40th minute through a Manu Kone double. Martinez began Inter’s response immediately after the break, scoring in the 46th minute, before volleying in the leveller with 11 minutes left.
The point leaves Roma top of Serie A on 13 points, with Inter second and level on points but behind on goal difference.
Martinez targets Inter’s slow starts
Martinez said Inter’s opening-half display had lacked the necessary attitude and should be forgotten. He felt the team changed its mentality after half-time, but stressed that conceding an entire half in a match of that level makes the task unnecessarily difficult.
He described the draw as a useful result given Roma’s quality and the stage of the campaign, while making clear that Inter must examine their starts to games rather than repeatedly trying to recover control late on.
It was Inter’s fourth straight match across Serie A and the Champions League in which they had fallen 2-0 behind. They had completed winning comebacks in two of the previous three fixtures.
The Roma draw also made it three consecutive league matches in which Simone Inzaghi’s side have trailed by two goals before avoiding defeat. On September 5, Inter came from 2-0 down to beat Napoli 3-2, with Martinez scoring twice. They repeated the feat against Udinese on Monday, turning another two-goal deficit into a 5-3 win.
Four goals for captain
Martinez now has four goals this season. He said a demanding summer conditioning programme has helped him respond after a difficult World Cup campaign, when Argentina were too often playing catch-up.
The forward said the tournament had been a major disappointment and that he had worked hard physically with the aim of giving everything for Inter.
Tribute to Mazzola and Messi message
Inter’s captain also paid tribute to Sandro Mazzola following the death of the former Nerazzurri and Italy great at the age of 83. Martinez said Mazzola was an icon for both Inter and Italian football, and offered support to his family.
Looking further ahead to Lionel Messi’s eventual exit from international football, Martinez said Argentina will face an emotional occasion when that moment arrives. He said Messi’s impact reaches far beyond Argentina and that the national side must eventually continue without him.
