Despite Mauro Icardi being stripped of the Inter captaincy, coach Luciano Spalletti has insisted that he has no personal issue with the player.
Prior to Inter’s 1-0 win away to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday night, the Argentine forward lost the armband to Samir Handanovic and then decided not to travel for the game in Austria.
Speaking after the win which was achieved via a first half Lautaro Martinez penalty, the Nerazzurri tactician addressed the issues with his star striker.
“I always think about what is coming next so I’ll be ready for the next day of work but as far as I’m concerned, there is no problem with me [and Icardi]. We will see what happens when we meet next,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
That being said, in the absence of Icardi, the former Roma tactician was keen to extol the virtues of his replacement Lautaro, who won the penalty and then scored it for the Beneamata’s only goal of the night.
“We had a centre forward with Lautaro. Inside the area, Mauro is a bird of prey, who pounces on anything that comes his way. But when the ball is played to him, he has different characteristics and maybe Lautaro does it better,” continued Spalletti.
“They are two excellent players who shine with their teamwork and are very strong. Lautaro is a player who knows how to do a little bit of everything and let’s see if he can become as strong as Mauro inside the area but he’s a strong player.”
