Inter 4-0 Udinese: Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez among goals as hosts light up San Siro in Serie A

Inter Milan dispatched a sorry Udinese thanks to a blitz of three goals in seven minutes before half-time and reclaim the lead of Serie A after Juventus briefly went top thanks to their Friday night victory over Napoli.

In a one-sided affair, Inter Milan held the bulk of possession for much of the game and only the brilliance of Marco Silvestri in the Udinese goal kept it at 0-0 until past the half-hour mark.

But after Hakan Calhanoglu opened the floodgates from the penalty spot, Inter never looked back, and their 3-0 lead at half-time meant they could afford to rest plenty of their big names ahead of their all-important UEFA Champions League clash with Real Sociedad on Tuesday.

The win sees them storm back to the top of Serie A, while AC Milan’s earlier loss means Inzaghi’s men have opened up a nine-point chasm over their inter-city rivals.

Meanwhile Udinese remain just a point above the relegation zone and could slip into the bottom three before the end of the weekend depending on how Empoli and Cagliari fare on Monday.

Despite a mini-resurgence when the game was already long-gone, Udinese struggled to create any truly goal-threatening chances and finished the game with just one attempt on target.

It looked to have sparked a potential comeback when Yann Sommer dropped it right to Lorenzo Lucca who duly stuck it in the onion bag, but the striker had lazily stood a yard offside watching the initial shot and it was right chalked off.

The just about summed up the night for the visitors, who will also be without Joao Ferreira next time as the Portuguese defender picked up yet another yellow card early on.

The hapless Udinese were Inter Milan’s latest victims as their celebrated their sixth win in seven Serie A games, with a 7-0 aggregate margin in the last two alone.

The hosts were just way too slick for their basement-dwelling opponents and despite Udinese often putting seven men behind the ball in defence, might be disappointed not to have opened the scoring earlier.

Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram continue to prove they’re one of the deadlier strike partnerships in Europe with the latter finishing off a simply sumptuous 21-pass move for Inter’s third.

Though Martinez has cultivated a well-earned reputation as a deadly finisher but it was his street-fighter mentality that really shone through against Udinese. He won the penalty early and created two more goals with his dogged scrapping for the ball in the face of some disinterested visiting defenders – including his own goal that capped the blowout for Inter late on. And from Martinez’s fiery celebration, it’s clear how much his 14th Serie A goal of the season meant.

Inzaghi had to reshuffle his side after being hit by more injuries with Matteo Darmian pushing up to wing-back but Inter never looked out of rhythm as all three central midfielders produced star turns too.

Dimarco would’ve been worthy of a joint-award really, the wing-back mightily impressive and surviving an injury scare with Denzel Dumfries already sidelined.

But Calhanoglu was the early livewire for Inter, twice fizzing thunderbolts at Silvestri’s goal before stepping up to dispatch his penalty with disdain.

He never, ever looked like missing from 12 yards out and that kicked off the rout before Calhanoglu set up Dimarco’s goal to double that lead.

With reported interest from the Premier League surfacing this week, fans at the San Siro may need to enjoy the Turk while they can and he gave them plenty of opportunity for that against Udinese.

Inter Milan: Sommer 5, Bisseck 7, Acerbi 5, Bastoni 7, Darmian 5, Barella 7, Calhanoglu 8, Mkhitaryan 7, Dimarco 8, Thuram 7, Martinez 7. Subs: Sensi 7, Cuadrado 7, Arnautovic 7, Asllani 6, Carlos Augusto 6.

Udinese: Silvestri 7, Ferreira 6, Kabasele 7, Perez 4, Festy 7, Samardzic 5, Walace 5, Payero 5, Zemura 6, Pereyra 5, Lucca 6. Subs: Lovric 5, Zarraga 6, Ehizibue 6, Thauvin 7, Kristensen 6.

10’ – MARTINEZ DENIED: For all Udinese’s commitment to a long defensive shift, Martinez will be a threat all game. The Argentine’s ghostly movement and deadly finishing has netted him 13 goals already in Serie A this season and nearly added to it there, playing in Dimarco on the left before drifting into the centre of the penalty area and meeting the cross well – but his header thunders against the post and bounces out.

27’ – SO CLOSE! Calhanoglu nearly broke the game open there with a stunning effort! He played a quick 1-2 with Barella before rifling a rocket of a shot (are rockets rifled?) from just outside the area that flashes past Silvestri’s post before he even knew what had happened. The Udinese keeper was rooted to the spot there and had no chance but it remains 0-0.

33’ – INTER PENALTY? Lautaro Martinez hit the deck there under minmal contact from Neuhen Perez, but VAR are looking at it? Martinez really made a meal of it but regardless, It was a pretty brainless decision from the defender, he pulled the Argentine’s arm back. And three minutes and a scuffle later… HE’S GIVEN IT!

37’ – GOAL! INTER MILAN 1-0 UDINESE (CALHANOGLU): Hakan Calhanoglu has been the standout for Inter so far and makes no mistake from the spot, firing into the bottom left corner with Silvestri guessing the wrong way.

42’ – GOAL! INTER MILAN 2-0 UDINESE (DIMARCO): Udinese can have some complaints about the opener but none here! Martinez pickpockets the visiting defence and finds Calhanoglu, who releases Federico Dimarco in space on the left of the penalty and he takes full advantage, hammering his finish back across goal to double the lead.

44’ – GOAL! INTER MILAN 3-0 UDINESE (THURAM): Is this a game or a turkey shoot? This time Inter prise Udinese open with a sumptuous team move, Mkhitaryan recieves a pull-back and whips in a first-time cross for Marcus Thuram so sneak in at the back post and tap home. Game over?

68’ – GOAL… DISALLOWED! Lorenzo Lucca had the ball in the net after Yann Sommer beat a Pereyra shot straight to the striker, but he’s called offside. Hopefully that wakes Inter up as it’s been pretty sleepy from the hosts since those changes.

84’ GOAL! INTER MILAN 4-0 UDINESE (MARTINEZ): The captain was the biggest surprise remaining on the pitch but played with the same intensity as in the first minute and was rewarded there. He robbed the Udinese defence then burst forwards while Arnautovic’s run on the right pinned the remaining rearguard in place. And Martinez doesn’t miss many one-on-ones, firing in his 14th goal of the season.

Carlos Augusto has been involved in every 2023/24 league game for Inter Milan but started just once.

Just one win in 15 Serie A games this season for Udinese, the worst win rate in the entire division.