Inter go 10 points clear as Lautaro nets 20th goal of season

Updated: Feb 16, 2024, 11:08 pm

Leaders Inter Milan lived up to expectations as they cruised to a 4-0 home win over bottom-placed Salernitana on Friday to strengthen their grip on top of Serie A.

Goals from Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martínez, Denzel Dumfries and Marko Arnautovic sealed the win that lifted Simone Inzaghi's side to 63 points, 10 clear of second-placed Juventus, who were shocked by Udinese on Monday.

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"The lads did very well. It was a solid match, approached in the best possible way. Salernitana had created problems for many teams," coach Inzaghi told reporters.

"We still have a long way to go. We must stay focused even when we sleep. We are looking only at the next game, our goal is to reach the end of all competitions."

Lautaro Martínez celebrates his 20th Serie A goal of the season with fellow scorer Marcus Thuram.
Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

The hosts grabbed the lead in the 17th minute thanks to Thuram's powerful strike from the centre of the box off Carlos Augusto's cross

Serie A top scorer Martínez doubled the lead just two minutes later as he scored his 20th league goal of the season, curling a superb long-range shot from Augusto's second assist of the night.

The Argentina forward is the third Inter player, after Giuseppe Meazza and Stefano Nyers, to score at least 20 goals in three consecutive Serie A seasons.

Dumfries made it 3-0 in the 40th minute, pouncing on a rebound from goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, while substitute Arnautovic's tap-in sealed the rout in the final seconds of the game.

Inter next host Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. 

"As we said after [finishing runner-up at the 2023] Champions League final, this is a very strong team and we work to hold Inter's flag high." added Martínez.

Reuters contributed to this report.