Lautaro Martinez double lifts Inter Milan to win at Udinese

Updated: Sep 28, 2024, 01:10 pm

Striker Lautaro Martínez recovered his scoring instinct with two goals that helped Inter Milan to a 3-2 win at Udinese in Serie A on Saturday, as the defending champions bounced back from a three-game winless run in all competitions.

Inter earned their first win in September after losing 2-1 to local rivals AC Milan last weekend following a 1-1 draw at Monza, either side of a 0-0 draw at Manchester City in the Champions League.

Inter, who host Red Star Belgrade in Europe's elite club competition on Tuesday, are third in Serie A on 11 points, level with second-placed AC Milan and leaders Torino, who have a game in hand and host Lazio on Sunday.

Davide Frattesi put Inter in front after 43 seconds as he latched onto a low cross by Matteo Darmian and fired the ball in.

'Lautaro Martínez scored twice in Inter Milan's win over Udinese.
Mattia Ozbot - Inter/Inter via Getty Images

Udinese, however, gained in momentum as the first half went on and sent a warning shot with an attempt by Sandi Lovric that was cleared by the Inter defence.

Eventually their defender Christian Kabasele levelled in the 35th minute with a header that bounced in front of Inter keeper Yann Sommer and into the net.

Martinez bundled the ball over the line in first-half stoppage time to restore the lead for Inter, however, notching his first goal of the season.

Last campaign's Serie A top scorer with 24 goals had not found the net since a 5-0 league win at Frosinone on May 10.

He made up for lost time by scoring another right after the break, making it 3-1 from the edge of the box after Marcus Thuram set him up with a perfect low pass.

Inter became passive at times and invited trouble again when Lorenzo Lucca pulled another one back for Udinese in the 83rd minute, capping a solo run and making for a nailbiting finish.

Substitute Joaquín Correa had a chance to increase Inter's lead but Udinese keeper Maduka Okoye leaped to deny the Argentine forward.

The hosts, who saw their nine-game unbeaten run in Serie A end last weekend with a 3-0 defeat at AS Roma, have not recorded two consecutive defeats in the league since April.

Udinese are now fifth in the table on 10 points, level with Napoli who face Monza on Sunday.