Lautaro Martínez shines again for Inter with a hat trick; De Vrij also scores

Inter has made no mistake in the battle for the Italian league title. When visiting Lecce, coach Simone Inzaghi's team won 0-4, thanks to a hat trick from Lautaro Martínez and a striking header from Stefan de Vrij. Inter is now nine points above closest pursuer Juventus, which has also played one more match. Lecce is fourteenth and is not yet safe with four points above the line.

Title favorite Inter took the lead in Stadio Via del Mare after fifteen minutes of play. An excellent through ball from Kristjan Asllani ended up with Martínez, who used his body well, held off his direct opponent and finished nicely behind goalie Wladimiro Falcone: 0-1.

In the otherwise unremarkable first half, neither team scored again, allowing Lecce to continue to hope for a good result. However, that hope evaporated ten minutes after halftime. After an excellent combination between Alexis Sánchez and Lautaro, the latter scored convincingly at the first post: 0-2.

Inter persevered and reached 0-3 just two minutes later. Davide Frattesi was sent deep, looked to his left and served Martínez. The Argentinian top scorer slid the ball against the ropes to score his 23rd league goal this season.

Martínez saw Inter further extend their lead, although for a change he had no part in the next Milan goal. A corner kick from Federico Dimarco was appreciated by De Vrij, who towered above everything and everyone and headed the 0-4 against the ropes.

Just before the end, De Vrij ended up wrong after an aerial duel. The man went to the ground and grabbed his knee. It seemed to be not too bad, because the Dutchman was able to continue playing quite quickly. It didn't seem to go really smoothly at first, but De Vrij soon pulled forward and so the damage seems to be not too bad.

Just before the end, the second Dutchman should also have gotten on the scoreboard. A beautiful cross from Nicolò Barella ended up at the far post for Dumfries, who headed wide from close range. It was by no means an expensive miss for Inter, who came one step closer to the scudetto after the convincing victory.

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