Inter Milan's Major Victory: Revived with Lautaro Martinez

The return of captain Lautaro Martinez from injury was the biggest factor enabling Inter to completely transform and crush Roma 5-2 in Serie A's 31st round, taking an extremely solid step towards the championship.

Having been sidelined for nearly two months due to a calf injury, Lautaro needed only one minute after his return to score for Inter. Fifty minutes later, he increased the score to 3-1 and officially shattered Roma's will.

Lautaro is Inter's breath of life

To put it poetically, Lautaro Martinez's return was like dawn's light shining into Inter's darkness. Indeed, Inter entered the match against Roma amidst unprecedented lack of confidence. Not only had they slumped with four recent matches without a win, allowing trailing teams to close the gap in the title race, but the players' morale had nearly hit rock bottom due to pains from club to national team, especially among the Italian internationals. Inter not only had to face Roma, a team fighting fiercely for a Champions League spot, but also seemed to confront a tense and skeptical world.

But just one minute after the opening whistle, Lautaro dispelled that fear with a goal from his familiar cut-in and finish following a pass from Marcus Thuram, his synergistic partner for three years. "El Toro" not only revived Inter with their first win since March 1st, but also revived Thuram himself, who in just 67 minutes of this match contributed as much as in his previous 14 matches combined (1 goal, 2 assists). Without Lautaro, Thuram was like a candle extinguished and Inter like a waterlogged gun averaging only one goal per match. When Lautaro returned, Inter immediately scored five goals, equaling their last six matches combined. More impressively, the victim that early morning was Roma, a team that had conceded only 23 goals in 30 prior matches, and Mile Svilar, the league's goalkeeper with the best save rate.

The champion's declaration of war

Beyond the goals, Lautaro's influence on both gameplay and morale was the element that changed Inter. With him, Inter played more fluidly, powerfully, and variably. Still, one cannot overlook the role and unexpectedly good form of other pillars like Hakan Calhanoglu, Marcus Thuram, Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, and even goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who made unbelievable saves.

Among them, Calhanoglu was extremely outstanding with a superb long-range strike in the final minute of stoppage time in the first half, raising the score to 2-1. That goal itself saved Inter from entering the locker room with heavy psychology, as they had played below par compared to the opponent before, still showing certain tension despite an early lead. His signature corner kick assisting Thuram to make it 4-1 was another reaffirmation of Calhanoglu, who had been criticized for signing for Galatasaray fans during the recent FIFA Days. Thuram, as mentioned, played his best match since early 2026, while Barella overcame World Cup pain with his first goal after exactly six months since the win over Cremonese on October 4th, 2025.

But the most important thing, more valuable than the five goals or three points, was that Inter's spirit seemed completely liberated from the previous boundless fear. Playing on Resurrection Day, Inter truly revived. "Crushing" a non-trivial opponent like Roma was the weighty declaration of war that coach Cristian Chivu and his team issued to those challenging them in the Scudetto race entering its final sprint.

Immediately ahead, Inter still face Como, Lazio, and Bologna as opponents capable of causing trouble in the seven remaining matches of the season, but with Lautaro back, the excitement restored and the gap still at least six points, don't even think about snatching the Scudetto from their hands.