Champions League: Lautaro Martinez sends Man City warning as Inter clinch Coppa Italia
Lautaro Martinez netted twice to power Inter to a 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina to win the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday. Will the Argentine be Manchester City's biggest threat in the Champions League grand finale?
FollowATTENTION, Manchester City... Inter's Lautao Martinez could be your biggest nightmare!
After netting key goals against Benfica and AC Milan to guide Inter to the Champions League final earlier this year, Martinez scored a sensational brace to power the Nerazzurri to a 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina to clinch the Coppa Italia trophy on Wednesday night.
The Coppa Italia is Inter's second trophy this season after they clinched the Supercoppa Italian in January when Martinez scored against Milan ad well. After a few games to wrap up Serie A, Martinez and Inter will be going for one more championship on June 10 in Istanbul when they take on Manchester City in the Champions League final.
Martinez, who also contributed to Argentina's World Cup victory in December, now has a career-high 27 goals for Inter this season in all competitions. In addition, he is the only player to have participated in all 54 of Inter's games this year.
The game at the Stadio Olimpico got underway quickly as Nicolas Gonzalez gave Fiorentina the lead after Inter's defence made a mistake. Gonzalez scored at the far post after Gonzalez allowed Jonathan Ikone's cross to glide over the box.
Martinez then took control to give Inter the lead just before halftime. First, Martinez scored his 100th goal for Inter with an angled effort into the far corner after Marcelo Brozovic's superbly placed through ball had set up the equaliser. He then executed an incredible volley to put a Nicolo Barella feed into the goal.
When Edin Dzeko was set up by Martinez with only the custodian to beat, he almost scored another goal, but Dzeko's shot flew high over the crossbar.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has now won seven of his eight finals as a manager, with this the ninth Italian Cup title for the club.
Inter and Fiorentina have earned a spot in the expanded Super Cup, which will feature four teams and include the Serie A champions Napoli and the runner-up in the league, by making it to the final. On June 7, they will also compete against West Ham in the Europa Conference League final.
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As for Laurato Martinez, Wednesday evening's Coppa Italia victory over Fiorentina will be an unforgettable one. It was a true leader's performance, who also scored his 100th and 101st goal in the Nerazzurri jersey and was awarded the MVP.
Following this historic night, the Argentine expressed how he felt after Inter bagged the Coppa Italia, and also sent a subtle warning to Manchester City ahead of their Champions League grand finale.
"Honestly, I am extremely emotional and over the moon because we've been bringing trophies to this huge Club for two years now, and we need to keep winning more. I wanted to lift another cup; winning in this sport is just the best feeling," said Martinez.
"We were excellent tonight. We started off poorly, but then we got a hold of the game and were able to turn the result around. We are very happy to take this cup back home to Milano," the Inter star added.
"I want to keep scoring and contributing to the team, to Inter and to winning," said the Argentine, who will be pumped to face Pep Guardiola's men on June 11.
