After officially being named captain in July, Lautaro Martinez is already rewarding his club by scoring the only two goals in the season opener at San Siro. It was a convincing performance by the entire squad claiming all three points in front of the faithful capacity crowd.
In his debut, center back Yann Bisseck was grateful for his warm welcome. “First Serie A game and the first victory in front of incredible fans,” he said.
The 2-0 win over Monza to open the 2023-24 campaign was significant for the Nerazzzurri for several reasons. It came after a season in which Inter dropped points twice against the Brianzoli only attaining 1 of the possible 6. This was also Inter’s fifth consecutive opening day victory and it comes after a summer of much upheaval and overturn of the squad losing such important starters as Romelu Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Skriniar and all three of their goalkeepers including starter Andre Onana and longtime captain Samir Handanovic.
“We had decided, together with the club, to change a lot. An important change is underway,” Inzaghi said after the match. “Good young players have arrived, experts who (are already here) will help others settle in.”
In the first half, Inter struck first in the 8th minute after Denzel Dumfries sent a low cross to Martinez. Yet some missed opportunities allowed the visiting side to grow into the game. Defensively, the Nerazzurri did enough to go back to the locker room with a 1-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, Yann Sommer, who also made his Inter debut, performed well overall but was caught in a moment of shakiness. The Swiss goalkeeper attempted to play a cross into the path of Giorgos Kyriakopoulos in the 48th minute but the effort was blocked by Hakan Calhanoglu.
By the 76th minute, another substitute and newcomer Marko Arautovic sent a lethal cross into the opposing penalty box first laid off by Henrikh Mkhitaryan allowing Lautaro Martinez to once again slide in and place the ball in the back of the net completing a victorious brace for the day consummating his new era as Inter captain.
“I’m happy because we started well. We played an excellent game,” Martinez said after the game, “the boys did what the coach wanted. I congratulate everyone. even to those who came on from the bench.”
The Nerazzurri face Cagliari next on August 28th, a Monday evening match for Matchday 2. They come back to San Siro to play Fiorentina on September 3rd before first international break of the season.
