Inter Milan defeats Roma to extend lead to nine points in Serie A
Lautaro Martínez made a significant impact upon his return, scoring twice as Inter Milan surged nine points ahead at the top of the Serie A standings with a 5-2 rout of Roma.
Martínez increased his season total to 23 with goals in both halves, each assisted by Marcus Thuram, alongside Hakan Çalhanoglu’s powerful strike and Nicolò Barella’s goal, following Gianluca Mancini’s equalizer for the visitors, who saw Lorenzo Pellegrini score late at San Siro.
AC Milan will face Napoli on Monday evening, aware that anything less than a victory will nearly secure the title for their city rivals, who had managed only two wins in their last eight league matches, providing hope for the pursuers with seven games left.
Martínez, returning from injury for the first time since February 18, took less than two minutes to net his 22nd goal of the season, finishing from Thuram’s assist to give the hosts an ideal start.
Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar was forced to make saves against Çalhanoglu, Alessandro Bastoni, and Martínez, as Inter looked poised to dominate, but Yann Sommer, the opposing keeper, denied Donyell Malen a potential equalizer in the 24th minute.
Piotr Zielinski narrowly missed with a shot in the 33rd minute as Svilar’s goal faced pressure once more, but the visitors equalized five minutes before halftime when Matìas Soulè set up Devyne Rensch, whose cross was headed in by Mancini.
Nevertheless, Cristian Chivu’s side went into the break with a 2-1 advantage after Çalhanoglu struck a stunning swerving 35-yard shot past the Roma goalkeeper in stoppage time.
Inter returned invigorated by their strong finish to the first half and quickly resumed their momentum, with Thuram and Martínez combining again for the Argentina international to score his second with a precise finish from a perfect 52nd-minute pass.
Thuram then scored on his own three minutes later, heading in his team’s fourth from a corner taken by Çalhanoglu, and Roma’s situation worsened in the 63rd minute when Barella powered into the penalty area and struck a fifth goal past Svilar.
Pellegrini narrowed the gap with 20 minutes left, sending a left-footed shot past Sommer after Malen had advanced into the box, while Gian Piero Gasperini’s team missed two chances to complicate matters for the home side.
Denzel Dumfries narrowly missed with a chip shot 13 minutes from time as the leaders aimed to conclude the match impressively, but their task was effectively accomplished.
