SMART AND DANGEROUS

Inter's talisman striker Lautaro is fired up to shoot down City

- NEIL SQUIRES

IF Inter Milan are to pull off a smash-and-grab win tonight it is almost certain that Lautaro Martinez will have a hand in the heist.

At the end of a season in which Erling Haaland has rewritten the rule book on goalscoring, the 28 that Inter's top scorer has delivered in the campaign are made to look somewhat nondescript.

While it may be only just over half of Haaland's colossal haul, by normal standards the numbers are respectable.

Add in the 72 chances Martinez has created for his team-mates this season and the importance of the Argentina World Cup winner to Inter begins to crystallise.

Having played in the biggest game in football less than six months ago, tonight is certainly not an occasion which will phase him.

"I think that they are the two major finals a footballer can play in.

The only thing that changes is the shirt. The feelings are the same," said the striker, 25.