Man City, take heed! Hot-taking Inter pair One of the most deadly attack combinations in Europe is Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

Man City, take heed! Hot-taking Inter pair One of the most deadly attack combinations in Europe is Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

Man City, take heed! Hot-taking Inter pair One of the most deadly attack combinations in Europe is Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

These days, very few clubs use a front two, but on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, we will witness a productive duo.

The ‘Barclaysmen’ phenomenon, which captivated the interest of several football enthusiasts during the international break.

Was not merely a manifestation of the customary annoyance incited by the disruption of the club season.

It also indicated a rising discontent with the contemporary game.

Over the past ten years, football has undergone significant change, not necessarily in a positive way.

And while long-range goals are becoming less common (the spectacular Euro 2024 group stage being an exception).

Some football fans believe Pep Guardiola is to blame for the tragic demise of the “screamer.”

The new generation of coaches, who are accused of being obsessed with walking the ball into the net.

Have surely been influenced by Guardiola’s success with possession football.

Even though the Catalan’s Manchester City team is statistically more skilled than most at scoring from distance.

It is also important to note that very few teams play with two up top these days. As a result, traditional strike combos like Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton.

Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, or Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge are becoming less common.

The few traditional No. 9s that are still in the game, like Erling Haaland

Dynamic duos have not entirely vanished, though. In fact, on Wednesday.

City will play Inter at the Etihad, the only team in the Champions League this season with an attacking duo of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez that is truly elite.

LuLa split up

Martinez and Romelu Lukaku’s collaboration was a major factor in Inter’s victory in the 2020–21 Serie A season. The two scored 41 goals together in the league alone, and like all supercouples, they went by the nickname Lula.

But it was Lukaku who caused them to split up twice, the second time irrevocably. Martinez claims that they have not communicated since Lukaku stopped answering his calls and texts.

At the time there were rumors that the Belgian was in talks to join Juventus

Martinez, along with every other Inter player, felt deceived by Lukaku, with whom he had a great relationship both on and off the field.

Martinez, on the other hand, has moved on and is now enjoying himself more than ever while playing up front for Inter with Thuram.

A free agent acquired from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2023 who essentially replaced Lukaku.