Lautaro Martinez vented his irritation at modern refereeing after Inter’s 1-0 win over Venezia, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan is already looking forward to the Scudetto showdown with Napoli.
It was on paper a fairly simple task for the reigning Champions of Italy, but in reality anything but, as they wasted numerous scoring opportunities even after the Lautaro Martinez cushioned header on Federico Dimarco’s cross.
Marcus Thuram was particularly guilty of failing to convert chances, along with Mkhitaryan, while Inter-owned Filip Stankovic also made some fine saves.
There was late drama at the 97th minute when Marin Sverko thought he had equalised with the last kick of the game, but it was disallowed by VAR for handball as he jumped with Yann Bisseck.
The tension got to the Argentina international, who was angry with referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi for her overall approach.
“There were zero minutes of added time in the first half, but seven after the break. I think football needs to move forward and we are not doing that,” Lautaro Martinez told DAZN.
“This is why we are angry. If we want football to improve, we all have to do more. In any case, we take these three points and continue to do our work on the field. Of course, we also have our own blame to take for not killing the game off earlier, we did the same against Juventus. It’s a long season, but we have to improve in these details.”
Lautaro Martinez had bizarrely not scored a Serie A match at San Siro for eight months, since hosting Atalanta in February, so this felt like a weight off his shoulders.
“It was about time! I always say that I work for the team, I got two goals wrong in the first half, but I am glad because we took the points home.”
Lautaro Martinez irritated, Mkhitaryan targeting Napoli
epaselect epa11699859 Inter Milan�s Lautaro Martinez (2-R) speaks with referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi (R) during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Venezia FC at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 03 November 2024. EPA. -EFE/NICOLA MARFISI
Mkhitaryan wasted some big chances and had another disallowed for Federico Dimarco’s offside position in the build-up.
“Playing in this team is special, I really enjoy it and my teammates help me. I am trying to give my all, whether I play 60, 70 or 90 minutes,” Mkhitaryan told DAZN.
Although he is facing his former club in the Champions League midweek, the Armenian is already distracted by the next Serie A clash with the leaders.
“We’ve got to think about Arsenal first, then after that we can consider Napoli. It is going to be a very interesting match with Napoli, as it is a fight for the top of the table.”
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