Martinez nets late penalty as Inter squeeze past Salzburg to progress
Nerazzurri head coach Simone Inzaghi initially opted to leave Martinez on the bench, and it was the hosts who made the better start, with Yann Sommer having to be alert to smother at the feet of Roko Simic, son of former Inter defender Dario.
Simic’s legitimate claim for a penalty midway through the first half fell on deaf ears when he was dragged down by Carlos Augusto at a corner, but Inter should have gone ahead though on 35 minutes as Hakan Calhanoglu’s pinpoint free-kick found Alessandro Bastoni unmarked in the box, but the Italy international perhaps underlined why he hadn’t netted at club level since January 2022, glancing a header wide of Alexander Schlager’s left-hand post.
However, that miss was nothing compared to the one produced by Davide Frattesi, who skied his effort from 15 yards after being teed up invitingly by Alexis Sanchez.
Despite enjoying more than 60% possession before the interval, Salzburg’s attacks often broke down in the final third.
They continued to try and force the issue at the start of the second period in search of their fourth straight victory in all competitions, but were still under pressure at times, notably as another Çalhanoğlu set-piece was flapped at by Schlager.
That said, the Austrians should have broken the deadlock following a swift counter initiated by Simic, but the lively Oscar Gloukh ultimately blazed over when he should have tested Sommer, who then had to shovel away in-form teenager Karim Konate’s shot.
Inzaghi finally introduced Martínez along with Nicolo Barella on 68 minutes, but it was another substitute, Kristjan Asllani, who almost caught out Schlager from distance.
Martinez’s influence was pretty swift though, with his header from Bastoni’s cross crashing off the bar thanks to Schlager’s fingertip save.
But the deadlock was eventually broken when Barella’s strike was blocked by the outstretched arm of Mads Bidstrup, allowing the FIFA World Cup winner to finish the resulting spot-kick with aplomb.
Inter’s next UCL assignment sees them travel to rock-bottom Benfica in three weeks’ time, while Salzburg make the trip to San Sebastian to take on group leaders Real Sociedad needing a win to keep alive their hopes of progression.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Roko Simic (RB Salzburg)
