Tottenham Hotspur target Lautaro Martinez was slammed for his frustrating display for Argentina against Saudi Arabia.
Luke Baker, writer for The Independent, gave the striker a ‘4’ in his player ratings following the match between the two sides.
It was a World Cup shocker as Saudi Arabia came back to win 2-1 against Argentina. Martinez did find the net twice, but both were ruled out by VAR.
When looking at the game, it’s clear to see that Argentina weren’t clinical with their chances in front of goal, they didn’t a score from open play. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia had two shots on target and two goals, to take all three points.
Here’s what Baker had to sat about the forward’s performance, ‘Lautaro Martinez – 4
‘Gorgeous finish on 22 minutes that was disallowed for the narrowest of offsides and then had another strike ruled out for the same reason. Struggled with the Saudi defence’s high line – hence the offsides – and Argentina would have hoped a striker of his quality could have adjusted his runs accordingly. A frustrating day.’
Malik Ouiza of the Evening Standard also had some negative feedback for the attacker as he stated he ‘faded badly’ after half-time.
TIF’s view on Baker’s comments…
We believe that it was a frustrating day on the pitch, especially for Martinez. Having two goals ruled out by VAR will have been very frustrating for the 25-year-old.
Spurs were reported to be lining up a bid for Martinez, back in October. This was to allegedly keep manager Antonio Conte happy according to the same report. Indeed, it has been claimed that Conte is a ‘big fan’of the attacker.
However, a striker isn’t necessarily where Spurs need to strengthen immediately. Only if Harry Kane should leave the club, should Tottenham turn their attention to looking at a forward.
Don’t let his performance against Saudi Arabia fool you, Martinez is a very good striker. He’s got 7 goals in 15 for Inter Milan in Serie A and has 3 assists this season.
Furthermore, he netted 21 times last season and 17 the season before. So, he knows how to find the back of the net. He would be a strong replacement for Harry Kane should he decide to leave the club in the near future.