Inter Milan extend Serie A lead with win at Lazio

Updated: Dec 17, 2023, 10:59 pm

Internazionale extended their lead at the top of Serie A to four points after goals by forwards Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram gave them a 2-0 win at Lazio on Sunday.

After their seventh win in the last eight league games, Inter top the standings on 41 points from 16 games and have stretched their lead over second-placed Juventus (37), who missed the chance to go top when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Genoa on Friday.

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It was Inter's first victory at the Rome side's home in Serie A since October 2018.

"As a coach it feels good to win a match like that. We covered the pitch well, conceding only one chance to (Nicolo) Rovella. We were a team in difficult moments," coach Simone Inzaghi told a press conference.

"We have to continue in this way, playing as a team. The boys have to keep challenging me every training session because we play so much."

Lazio started on the front foot, dominating possession and aggressively fending off Inter's attempts.

However, the visitors were gifted the opener when Lazio defender Adam Marusic gave away the ball as he tried to pass it backwards and Martinez latched on to it to dribble past keeper Ivan Provedel and score from close range in the 40th minute.

The Argentine forward netted his 15th league goal of the season, six more than Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi who is second on the scorers' list.

Lazio pushed for an equaliser after the break and Rovella came close to finding the net from inside the box but was denied by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Thuram doubled the advantage for Inter in the 66th minute with a low shot inside the far post after collecting a precise pass into the box from Nicolò Barella.

The hosts finished down to 10 men after defender Manuel Lazzari was shown a straight red card four minutes before the end for a remark he made to the referee after Lazio were refused a free kick.

Inter's Sommer, who has now gone 11 games without conceding, is the first goalkeeper to collect at least 10 clean sheets in his first 15 Serie A matches in the three-point era (since 1994-95).

No team has kept more clean sheets than Inter this season in the big five European leagues.

Lazio, who had been unbeaten at their own ground this season since their August defeat to Genoa (1-0), are 11th in the table with 21 points.