Match ends, Inter Milan 4, Udinese 0.
Inter MilanInter Milan4UdineseUdinese0
Inter Milan have returned to the top of Serie A with an easy win over Udinese.
Juventus had knocked Inter off the summit with victory over Napoli on Friday night, but the Milan side reclaimed top spot with their 12th win from 15 league games this season.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco and Marcus Thuram all scored in the first half for Inter, before Lautaro Martinez added his 14th league goal of the season late on.
They are two points above Juve and nine clear of third-placed AC Milan, who earlier lost to Atalanta.
Inter dominated from the off, Serie A top scorer Martinez hitting the post before Udinese keeper Marco Silvestri made a brilliant low save from Dimarco.
But the breakthrough came when Martinez was tugged down in the box by Nehuen Perez, with the penalty given following a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check. Calhanoglu sent Silvestri the wrong way.
Dimarco put Inter in control with a powerful left-footed shot into the far corner and Thuram put the result beyond doubt before the break, finishing from close range following a 21-pass move culminating in a fine cross by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Argentine Martinez's powerful strike added gloss to the scoreline with just over five minutes remaining.
Atalanta dent AC Milan's title hopes
Earlier, AC Milan suffered a blow to their own Serie A title hopes as Luis Muriel scored a 95th minute backheeled winner for Atalanta in a 3-2 victory.
Atalanta twice took the lead in Bergamo through former Everton and Fulham forward Ademola Lookman but were pegged back by Olivier Giroud in first-half stoppage time, and again by Luka Jovic with 10 minutes to go.
But after Milan defender Davide Calabria was dismissed for a second bookable offence, Muriel stole the show in the final seconds.
A slick Atalanta move saw Aleksei Miranchuk feed the onrushing Colombian international in the area, before Muriel cleverly finished past Mike Maignan from six yards to send the home fans wild.
The defeat, just Milan's fourth in the league this season, comes at a bad time before Wednesday's crucial Champions League trip to Newcastle, where Stefano Pioli's side have to win to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
Line-ups
Inter Milan
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Sommer
- 31Bisseck
- 15Acerbi
- 95BastoniSubstituted forZopolato Nevesat 56'minutes
- 36Darmian
- 23Barella
- 20ÇalhanogluSubstituted forAsllaniat 71'minutes
- 22MkhitaryanSubstituted forSensiat 79'minutes
- 32DimarcoSubstituted forJu Cuadradoat 71'minutes
- 9ThuramSubstituted forArnautovicat 56'minutes
- 10La MartÃnez
Substitutes
- 5Sensi
- 7Ju Cuadrado
- 8Arnautovic
- 12Di Gennaro
- 14Klaassen
- 16Frattesi
- 21Asllani
- 30Zopolato Neves
- 42Agoumé
- 44Stabile
- 70Sánchez
- 77Audero
Udinese
Formation 3-1-4-2
- 1Silvestri
- 13FerreiraBooked at 13mins
- 27Kabasele
- 18Pérez
- 11Souza Silva
- 2EboseleSubstituted forThiesson Kristensenat 62'minutes
- 24SamardzicSubstituted forLovricat 62'minutes
- 32PayeroSubstituted forZarragaat 86'minutes
- 33ZemuraSubstituted forEhizibueat 86'minutes
- 17LuccaSubstituted forThauvinat 75'minutes
- 37Pereyra
Substitutes
- 3Masina
- 4Lovric
- 5Guessand
- 6Zarraga
- 8Quina
- 12Kamara
- 15Aké
- 16Tikvic
- 19Ehizibue
- 21Camara
- 26Thauvin
- 31Thiesson Kristensen
- 40Okoye
- 80Pafundi
- 93Padelli
- Referee:
- Marco Di Bello
- Attendance:
- 71,874
Match Stats
Home TeamInter MilanAway TeamUdinese
- Possession
- Home74%
- Away26%
- Shots
- Home17
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away1
- Corners
- Home6
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away6
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Inter Milan 4, Udinese 0.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kingsley Ehizibue (Udinese) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Roberto Pereyra.
Post update
Foul by Lautaro MartÃnez (Inter Milan).
Post update
Kingsley Ehizibue (Udinese) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Udinese. Oier Zarraga replaces MartÃn Payero.
Substitution
Substitution, Udinese. Kingsley Ehizibue replaces Jordan Zemura.
Goal!
Goal! Inter Milan 4, Udinese 0. Lautaro MartÃnez (Inter Milan) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Sandi Lovric (Udinese) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Foul by Carlos Augusto (Inter Milan).
Post update
Sandi Lovric (Udinese) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Inter Milan. Stefano Sensi replaces Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Post update
Juan Cuadrado (Inter Milan) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Jordan Zemura (Udinese).
Post update
Foul by Marko Arnautovic (Inter Milan).
Post update
Nehuén Pérez (Udinese) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Udinese. Florian Thauvin replaces Lorenzo Lucca.
Post update
Attempt missed. Nehuén Pérez (Udinese) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Sandi Lovric with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Post update
Delay in match because of an injury Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan).
