After scoring against Napoli and helping Inter Milan register a comprehensive win of 2-0 in Serie A, Lautaro Martinez has asserted that they are looking to continue playing in the same way. As Juventus have already been crowned the champions, Martinez said that Inter want to finish second in the points table.
“After beating Genoa we told ourselves that we want to win to hold on to second place. Of course, we know that another team have already got their hands on the Scudetto, but we want to finish as strongly as we possibly can in the league,” Martinez was quoted as saying on the official website of Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Martinez scored in either side of break at the empty San Siro Stadium to ensure that Inter win both the league matches against the Coppa Italia winners this season.
Inter broke the deadlock in the 10th minute as Antonio Candreva’s cross found Cristiano Biraghi, who pulled back for D’Ambrosio to finish with a low-strike.
Inter were under siege later but goalkeeper Samir Handanovic performed well to keep a clean sheet.
The Nerazzurri doubled the lead in the 74th minute when Lautaro surged forward and released a missile that flew into the far corner.
“Is this my best goal in Italy? I also scored a great one in Madrid in a friendly last year, and my goals against Dortmund and Slavia Prague were pretty nice too. It’s hard to rank them, but of course this one was a peach. This win stands us in good stead for the match against Atalanta. We’ll keep at it in the next two days so that we go into that game in top form, ready to win and retain our position in the league,” Martinez concluded.
With the victory, Inter lead third-placed Atlanta with a gap of one point and fourth-placed Lazio by four points. While Inter and Atlanta have played 37 matches, Lazio have fared in 36.
Napoli, despite owning a greater share of ball possession, failed to dent the defence of the Antonio Conte-managed team and took a blow to their hope for Europa League qualification.
Napoli stand seventh after playing 37 matches and earning 59 points, one behind sixth-placed AC Milan who have played a game less.