Lautaro, after the darkness there is a trail of goals: when Toro breaks free then he scores in a burst

One of the first “clicks” was heard with the national team. Lautaro hasn’t found the back of the net for Argentina for almost two years. Seventeen games without stinging against the Albiceleste. Many, too many, but the United States gave him a hand: he scored the great return goal in Los Angeles against Costa Rica. It was March 26, 2024. He hadn’t scored since September 23, 2022: 550 days without kissing his team’s shirt Village. From there, however, he began to score in a burst: 11 goals in 15 games. Inter have also learned to know him.

recovery

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Lautaro Martinez is like this, when he unlocks he never stops. This is why Inzaghi can rest assured. On Wednesday, Toro returned to scoring at San Siro after more than two months. The last sting was delivered to Venezia in November, before eight goalless matches in all competitions. The “click”, this time, arrived at the Unipol Domus against Cagliari, three days before New Year’s Eve. One way to end the season as he ended it: by scoring. In the last five matches between the championship and the Super Cup, Lautaro has scored three goals (Cagliari, Milan and Bologna). A way to reach out to the new year and present yourself in shape. Moments of mist have always happened to Lautaro. When he doesn’t score, sometimes, he does it for long periods, but when he unlocks it’s all downhill.

precedents

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Some examples: 2020-21 vintage, mid-January. After three goals scored against Crotone and one against Venezia, Toro failed to find the net for four games in a row, including the big matches against Roma and Juve. He broke free against Benevento and then didn’t stop: four goals in four matches, including the brace in the derby against Milan. Danger averted. And again: 2021-22 season, Inzaghi’s first on the bench. After a great first round with 11 goals in 19 games, Lautaro gradually fades away and remains without a goal for eight games in a row. Juve gets into the Super Cup, but fails to find the target in Serie A. He broke free against the usual Salernitana, his favorite victim, scoring three goals at San Siro. From then on it’s another descent: seven rings in the last ten games, plus another brace against Milan in the semi-final of the Italian Cup and a goal against Liverpool in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Similar story in 2022-23: Toro stings Lecce on March 5th and then stops for five games. He will come out of this with a bang: seven goals in the last eight and a brace in the Italian Cup final against Fiorentina. Who knows how far this time he will go.