Lautaro’s CL magic; Inter’s 2-1 win over Kairat and a nod to Hakimi that warms the heart

Match Highlights

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez continued his eye‑catching form in the UEFA Champions League, guiding his side to a 2-1 victory over Kazakh champions Kairat Almaty in the group stage’s fourth round.

The Argentine opened the scoring before the break, while the visitors equalized early in the second half through Ofir Arad in the 55th minute. Inter steadied the ship with a decisive goal from left‑back Carlos Augusto in the 67th minute to secure the win.

Inter, under their coach, kept up their strong European form this season, reaching 12 points from four matches in the Champions League phase.

With this result, Inter sit third in the group on equal points with Bayern Munich and Arsenal, separated only by goal difference; Almaty remain on one point, in the fourth position.

Martinez’s Milestones and Inter’s European Campaign

Martinez’s goal in the Almaty game brings his tally to 25 in Champions League competition, making him the third Argentine to reach that mark behind Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero.

The Inter captain also extended his run to 12 goals in his last 11 Champions League appearances, underscoring his continued impact in Europe.

He became the third player to score in each of his first three Champions League matches of a single Inter season, following in the footsteps of Samuel Eto’o and Adriano.

Currently, Martinez sits fifth in the season’s top scorers list with four goals, behind Victor Osimhen (6), Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane, who have all netted five so far.

In a touching moment, Martinez celebrated his goal in tribute to former Inter teammate Achraf Hakimi, who is sidelined with an injury after a tough clash with Bayern Munich. The Argentine’s gesture offered support to his former colleague in a difficult period.

Inter’s European trajectory

Across Europe, Inter opened their campaign with a 2-0 win at Ajax, followed by a 3-0 triumph over Slavia Prague, and a 4-0 dismissal of Union Saint-Gilloise. In their fourth game, they conceded the first goal to Kairat but recovered to win 2-1, extending their perfect record in terms of goals scored and points gathered to date.

To date, Inter have scored 11 goals and conceded just one in the group phase, sharing the lead with Bayern and Arsenal atop the table on 12 points and continuing to outpace heavyweights such as Manchester City, Paris Saint‑Germain, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Barcelona.

Domestically, Inter began the Serie A campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Torino, then endured surprise losses to Udinese (2-1) and Juventus (4-3). They rebounded with wins against Sassuolo (2-1), Cagliari (2-0), Cremonese (4-1), and Roma (1-0). After four straight wins, they slipped at Napoli (3-1) but bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Fiorentina and a 2-1 win at Hellas Verona.

Under Inter’s coach, the side have accumulated 21 points and sit second in Serie A, just a point behind leaders Napoli. Notably, they still boast the league’s most prolific attack, with 24 goals scored—eight more than anyone else.