Lautaro Martinez wrote himself into Inter folklore on Tuesday night when the Argentine star netted the opener against Bayern Munich.
The Nerazzurri‘s 2-1 Champions League victory at the Allianz Arena gives Simeone Inzaghi’s side a slight advantage going into next week’s second leg quarter-final San Siro showdown.
Martinez opened the scoring after being teed up by a Marcus Thuram flick to fire home with the outside of his boot with 38 minutes gone.
Bayern pushed for an equaliser and were rewarded when veteran Thomas Muller tapped home from close range. However, Inter snatched the win when Davide Frattesi scored from a Carlos Augusto cross.
Inter’s fantastic victory has helped enhance their treble chances in 2024/25. Inzaghis’s side lead Serie A and are in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia.
Lautaro Martinez’s Inter Goals In The Champions League
After netting the opener in Munich, Lautaro Martinez has now scored more Champions League goals for Inter than anyone else in the club’s history.
The 2022 World Cup winner was level with former Brazil star Adriano on 18. Now, Martinez has 19 strikes to his name and will be aiming to extend his tally next week.
The Nerazzurri‘s star man will almost certainly become the first player to net 20 goals in the competition. It’s more of a case of when he’ll hit the milestone.
Before Martinez’s and Adriano’s exploits, two-time European Cup winner Sandro Mazzola led the way with 17 strikes. The Italian legend netted twice in the 1963/64 final victory against Real Madrid.
This season alone, Martinez has scored seven goals. His first two efforts came against Red Star and Sparta Prague before he fired in a hat-trick against Monaco on GW8.
His sixth strike came against Feyenoord in the round of 16 before netting on Tuesday to increase his tally to seven so far this season.
It’s a tall order but Martinez is still in with a chance of winning the UCL Golden Boot. As it stands, Barcelona’s Raphinha leads the way with 11 goals.
