Martinez nets again, Inter wrest top spot from Juve
MILAN: Lautaro Martinez fired Inter Milan back to the top of Serie A with the only goal in Sunday’s dramatic 1-0 win at Fiorentina, as depleted Napoli played out an uneventful goalless draw at Lazio.
Argentina forward Martinez glanced home the decisive goal in the 14th minute of an action-packed contest in Florence in which Nicolas Gonzalez wasted a late penalty for the hosts, who had Inter on the back foot for much of the game.
However it was a clash which ended with Inter one point ahead of Juventus, who were held by Empoli on Saturday, with a game in hand ahead of the two title rivals meeting at the San Siro this weekend.
“I can’t say anything to these guys because we’ve won 17 matches from 21, scored 50 times and let in only 10. I can only applaud them,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi to DAZN.
“Next week will be a match between two teams who play very high quality football... Juve are a team that you really need to face in your best form.”
Martinez is now on 22 goals in all competitions for the season, the Inter captain’s league tally of 19 in 21 matches putting him way ahead in the division’s scoring charts.
Inter fans will have breathed a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle as the win was largely down to Fiorentina’s poor attacking, with bad decisions going forward the order of the day for Vincenzo Italiano’s side.
The Tuscan outfit missed the chance to take fourth and the final Champions League spot off Atalanta and stay fifth, two points off the money-spinning topfour positions.
Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli stay ninth, 22 points behind Inter after not having a single shot on target in a dismal encounter at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Napoli were missing star striker Victor Osimhen to the Africa Cup of Nations while both Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone were suspended, leaving them short in attack.
Lazio were playing with the entire northern end of the stadium closed after fans racially abused Roma striker Romelu Lukaku earlier this month.
Maurizio Sarri’s team stay sixth after barely creating anything themselves in the absence of suspended Italy attackers Ciro Immobile and Mattia Zaccagni.
Their only true moment of excitement came almost straight after halftime when Valentin Castellanos’ beautiful overhead kick finish was ruled out for offside.
RESULTS
Fiorentina 0 Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 14); Genoa 2 (Retegui 70, Ekuban 76) Lecce 1 (Krstovic 31); Lazio 0 Napoli 0; Monza 1 (Colpani 31) Sassuolo 0; Verona 1 (Suslov 45+2-pen) Frosinone 1 (Kaio Jorge 58)