How two Inter stars were tactical ahead of Milan derby

Inter stars Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard may have had one eye on the upcoming Derby della Madonnina with Milan when pulling possibly tactical moves in the win over Udinese.

The Nerazzurri did not play their best in their Monday evening clash at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, falling 1-0 down after a baffling Lazar Samardzic opener. Hakan Calhanoglu responded with a penalty early in the second half, before Davide Frattesi netted a late winner to snatch all three points.

Inter are now on the verge of securing the Scudetto, the 20^th in their history, an achievement that’ll earn them a second star on their shirts. This comes as a bitter pill for Milan, who are also just a single title away from the honour themselves.

Tactical Inter stars?

In extra time of the win over Udinese, Lautaro and Pavard both got easily avoidable yellow cards, earning them a one-match suspension. As such, both will miss the upcoming league match with Cagliari on April 14^th.

Interestingly, the following game is the Derby della Madonnina against Milan, leading some to believe that the pair intentionally got soft bookings at the end of the Udinese match in order to avoid the risk of missing the derby through suspension.