Lautaro Martinez’s first-half goal earned Inter a 1-0 win at Udinese, restoring a six-point lead at the top of Serie A.
Inter Milan moved six points clear at the top of Serie A with a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Udinese, continuing their strong record at the Dacia Arena with a fourth win in their last five visits.
With a high-profile UEFA Champions League clash against Arsenal looming, Cristian Chivu rotated his squad, but Inter still began on the front foot. Lautaro and Dimarco both went close inside the opening five minutes as the Nerazzurri imposed themselves early.
The breakthrough arrived before the midway point of the first half. Zielinski’s incisive pass from deep found Pio Esposito, who intelligently cushioned the ball into the path of Martinez. The Inter captain shrugged off his markers and finished expertly into the bottom corner with the outside of his right boot.
The goal ended Martinez’s three-game Serie A scoring drought and ensured Inter maintained their intensity against an Udinese side that had previously recovered from conceding first in recent home matches. Around the half-hour mark, Martinez and Dimarco combined again, with Okoye producing a fine save to deny the wing-back.
Udinese struggled to create chances before the interval, with Sommer largely untroubled apart from a solid stop to keep out Keinan Davis’ long-range effort, preventing a repeat of his earlier success against Inter this season.
The pattern of the game remained unchanged after the break, as Udinese found it difficult to wrest control. Okoye was again called into action, this time denying Mkhitaryan from a tight angle, while Dimarco later saw a goal ruled out for offside in the build-up.
Tensions rose with 20 minutes remaining when Augusto escaped with a yellow card for a late challenge as the last defender, much to the frustration of the home crowd. Despite enjoying more possession late on, Udinese failed to seriously test Sommer.
Inter calmly saw out the closing stages to secure a sixth consecutive away league victory, tightening their grip on the Scudetto race. Udinese, by contrast, have now managed just one win in six matches and look set for a mid-table finish this season.
