LuLa, DzeLa, and now ThuLa. The “9 and 10” duo has been the key to success for Inter in recent years, all with a common denominator: Lautaro Martinez. It’s a combination of a striker who often finds himself in the penalty area and a partner who exploits the spaces created by teammates.
This formula was established during Antonio Conte’s time after Inter acquired Lukaku to replace Icardi in 2019. It marked the end of expectations for the Argentine striker partnership during Luciano Spalletti’s tenure, where the preferred formation, the 4-2-3-1, only allowed for one center forward.
Lautaro Martinez is a forward who can operate independently, but in recent seasons, he has perfectly bonded with any partner. From the powerful Lukaku to the clever Dzeko and now the versatile Thuram, these are forwards with different playing styles, yet Lautaro Martinez finds common ground with all of them.
First, Lautaro Martinez played as a supporting figure alongside Lukaku, but he has now become the central striker. This transformation was achieved through a special connection with the Belgian forward, as they’ve shared the pitch 109 times for Inter. However, they will be on opposite ends when Inter faces Roma on October 29. There have been many beautiful memories for the Lula duo, especially in their 1.0 version before Lukaku’s departure and return: a 3-1 win against Napoli on January 7, 2000, a 5-0 victory against Shakhtar in the Europa League semi-finals in 2019/20, and a 3-1 triumph over Lazio in the decisive match for the Scudetto in 2020/21.
It seemed like the Lula duo was irreplaceable. Still, the DzeLa duo has been equally impressive, reaching the Champions League final in 2022/23, with Dzeko scoring in the Milan derby in the first leg of the semifinals and Lautaro finding the net in the return leg.
It’s Thuram’s turn to enjoy happiness alongside Lautaro: assisting each other and scoring together. This season, Thula has scored 14 goals (Lautaro with 11 and Thuram with 3). Thuram provided two assists for Lautaro to score in the matches against Bologna and Salernitana and earned another penalty to help his teammate score.
From Lukaku to Dzeko to Thuram, Lautaro has shown that he is the perfect attacking partner for anyone.
Lautaro Martinez is also particularly dangerous coming off the bench.
In statistics covering the last season and the current one across the top 5 European leagues, Lautaro Martinez is the player with the most goals when coming on as a substitute, with 10 goals. The other two players in the top three are Mathys Tel (7 goals, Bayern Munich) and Callum Wilson (6 goals, Newcastle).
