February 26, (THEWILL) – Inter Milan restored their nine-point lead at the top of the Serie A standings and registered a 10th consecutive victory in the process, with Lautaro Martínez’s unstoppable brace being the crowning glory of a 4-0 win over Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare.
After their UEFA Champions League win over Atlético Madrid in midweek, and a tie with Atalanta to come on Wednesday, Simone Inzaghi made no less than eight changes to his starting line-up. It was a gamble which took just 15 minutes to pay off, as Kristjan Asllani burst through the middle and played a precise through ball to Lautaro Martínez, who beat the offside trap and slotted past Wladimiro Falcone.
When combined with the eventual clean sheet, that would also become Martínez’s third match-opening winner in his previous four strikes. Then, the spotlight switched to fellow South American powerhouse Alexis Sánchez midway through the half, as he won the ball deep in Lecce territory and crossed for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, however, the Armenian dragged his shot just wide.
To give credit where due, the home side grew into the game as the half wore on, yet they failed to test Emil Audero in the Inter goal before the break. Audero needed to be alert when an Antonino Gallo cross was met by Alexis Blin’s flying header, but it went agonisingly wide of the post with the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
Having come close to an equaliser, Lecce was found wanting at the other end eight minutes later, when Sánchez and Martínez linked up on the right side. The former played a simple ball across the six-yard box to Davide Frattesi, who applied the close-range finish. Two became three within a matter of seconds, as Frattesi picked the ball up on halfway, before sprinting unchallenged down the right and playing the ball square to Martínez, who fired past Falcone for his second away-day brace this year alone.
Number four came with a little over a quarter of the match remaining when centre-back Stefan de Vrij rose highest to meet Federico Dimarco’s corner for his first goal of the campaign. After an evening in which their unbeaten away record was barely threatened, the Nerazzurri are now 12 matches without defeat. Meanwhile, though both Lameck Banda and Roberto Piccoli came within inches of a consolation, a third loss without scoring means Roberto D’Aversa’s men have won just one of their last 10.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
