Lautaro Martinez starred for Inter as his double helped Antonio Conte s side to a 2-1 victory over SPAL and moved the Nerazzurri top of Serie A.
With Juventus having drawn with Sassuolo in Sunday s early fixture, Inter knew a win at San Siro would be enough to leapfrog Maurizio Sarri s men, and they had too much for a struggling SPAL side who are now winless in seven matches.
Martinez spearheaded Inter s attack – picking out the bottom-left corner of Etrit Berisha s goal with supreme accuracy in the 16th minute before doubling his tally with a well-placed header prior to half-time.
Mattia Valoti struck to spark a rejuvenated SPAL performance after the break, yet – despite Martinez squandering two golden chances to round off a hat-trick – Inter held firm to claim top spot.
Romelu Lukaku broke through SPAL s line in the 11th minute, though Berisha did well to rush out and close the angle.
Berisha was beaten five minutes later, however – Martinez gliding forward before directing a low finish across SPAL s goalkeeper.
Lukaku and Marcelo Brozovic both went close as Inter kept up the pressure, but the hosts had their second four minutes before the break, Martinez guiding home Antonio Candreva s excellent first-time cross.
| HALF-TIME
words to describe that first half: Martinez.
— Inter (@Inter_en)
Against the run of play, SPAL pulled themselves back into contention early in the second half as Valoti carved through Inter s defence and slotted in off the left-hand upright.
Alessandro Murgia might have made it 2-2 had he connected well with a looped cross, while Martinez saw a close-range header saved by Berisha before he then failed to beat the goalkeeper when one-on-one soon after.
Matias Vecino s close-range miss buoyed SPAL s resolve, but Andrea Petagna failed to take advantage when the visitors next chance came his way, while Jasmin Kurtic went close with a rasping long-range strike as Inter held onto the points.
What does it mean? Nerazzurri make most of Juventus off-day
Juve have long dominated Serie A, but in the form of Conte s Inter, the Old Lady seem to have serious title rivals this season.
Inter – now top by one point – have won 12 of their opening 14 Serie A matches in a season for the first time, while they have also become the fifth side to find the net in each of their first 14 league matches of a campaign in the 21st century, after Juve, Milan, Fiorentina and Roma.
In-form Martinez strikes early again
Martinez needed no second invitation to open the scoring, though it is perhaps no surprise given his record of scoring early goals in Serie A this season. Overall, six of the striker s eight league strikes have come in drilling in the opening 30 minutes.
EL TORO EARLY GOALS
A match made in heaven.
— Inter (@Inter_en)
Sluggish second-half start a cause for concern
Inter were in cruise control heading into the break, but a stuttering start to the second half enabled SPAL to wrest their way back into the contest and, had the visitors possessed more quality in attack, Conte s team could easily have been made to pay.
Key Opta stats
Inter have won the Serie A title on each of the last four occasions they have been alone at the top after 14 games played each season from 2006/07 to 2009/10.
Inter have two players (Martinez and Lukaku) with eight or more goals from the first 14 games of the Serie A season for the first time since 2001/02, when Christian Vieri and Mohamed Kallon were their prolific scorers.
Inter have scored the most headed goals in Serie A this season (six), whilst SPAL have conceded the joint-highest headers (six, alongside Brescia).
SPAL scored with their first shot on target attempted in the game.
Brozovic has provided an assist in consecutive appearances in Serie A for the second time in his career, and for the first time since February 2018.
What s next?
Inter welcome Roma to San Siro on Friday in Serie A, while SPAL s next outing comes against Lecce in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
