Lautaro Martinez propelled Inter Milan toward a potential treble with his late goal in a 2-0 victory over Atalanta, extending their lead at the top of Serie A to three points. This win is crucial in a title race against Napoli, who drew with Venezia. Inter’s success came after Carlos Augusto’s goal and a red card for Atalanta’s Ederson. Atalanta’s hopes for their first Scudetto are dwindling, sitting six points behind Inter. Meanwhile, Juventus faces pressure after a 3-0 defeat against Fiorentina, keeping coach Thiago Motta under scrutiny amid poor form.
Lautaro Martinez is aiming for the treble after netting a goal in Inter Milan’s 2-0 victory against Atalanta, which positioned the Italian champions three points ahead at the top of Serie A. The Argentina forward secured a crucial win in a three-way title race with his 18th goal of the season in all competitions during the 87th minute in Bergamo, expressing optimism about his team’s chances of replicating the success Inter achieved under Jose Mourinho 15 years ago.
Simone Inzaghi’s Inter has distanced itself further from nearest rivals Napoli, who could only muster a goalless draw against struggling Venezia in the day’s earlier match. The team remains active in both the Champions League and the Italian Cup.
Next month, Inter will face Bayern Munich, the team they triumphed over in the 2010 Champions League final, while two Milan derbies are upcoming in the domestic cup semi-finals scheduled for April.
“It’s almost like we hesitate to mention it but yes,” Martinez commented on DAZN when asked about the potential treble.
“It will be challenging, but we are going for it because we strive to win every match we play. That’s our goal.”
Martinez’s upbeat demeanor followed a pivotal victory for Inter in a tense match that concluded with both teams reduced to 10 men, resulting in Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini being sent to the stands.
Carlos Augusto gave Inter the lead eight minutes after the break, capitalizing on Atalanta’s lapse in concentration just after a five-minute interruption to assist a fan in need of medical care.
Inter takes charge
The Brazilian powered home Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner, and from that moment, the champions did not look back.
Inter’s advantage was further solidified when Ederson received two yellow cards in quick succession, first for dissent and then for sarcastically applauding referee Davide Massa, putting Atalanta down a man from the 81st minute.
Martinez struck Inter’s second goal just six minutes later, shortly after a furious Gasperini, still upset about Ederson’s red card, was dismissed by Massa.
However, the drama continued as 11 minutes of added time were played due to the earlier medical emergency, with Alessandro Bastoni receiving a red card for a series of fouls, marking the match’s third dismissal.
This did little to help Atalanta, whose hopes of clinching their first Scudetto are dimming as Gasperini’s side remains in third place, now trailing Inter by six points with nine matches left.
Atalanta has not secured a home win in Serie A since before Christmas, and Gasperini expressed frustration over Ederson’s sending off, claiming it decimated what was an evenly matched game.
“The referee ruined the end of the match because you hear much worse directed at referees than that sarcastic applause,” Gasperini stated.
“We lost a player who should not have been sent off… to ruin a match like that for such a minor incident is truly unfortunate for the fans and the two teams involved.”
Motta’s position secure, for now
Thiago Motta’s role at Juventus is secure for the moment, yet he faces immense pressure to improve results following a heavy 3-0 defeat against rivals Fiorentina.
The Turin side barely made an impact on eighth-placed Fiorentina, who celebrated a commanding performance in front of jubilant supporters, including legendary former striker Gabriel Batistuta, at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The nature of Sunday’s loss, especially after last weekend’s four-goal home rout by Atalanta, has left Motta’s position precarious, even as Juve’s sporting director emphasized their focus on a “long-term project”.
“Right now, we need to unify because a crisis is overcome through solidarity. We’re obviously disappointed; we’ve delivered two poor performances in what has been an inconsistent season,” Cristiano Giuntoli remarked to Sky.
“But we believe that we can overcome this together.”
Adding to Motta’s challenges, his former team Bologna has moved one point ahead of Juventus into fourth place after a resounding 5-0 victory over sixth-placed Lazio, who now trail Juve by just one point.
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