Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal as Inter moved six points clear at the top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Udinese at Bluenergy Stadium.

With second-placed AC Milan not in action until Sunday, Inter ensured they pulled further clear of their city rivals thanks to Martinez's 11th goal of the season in the 20th minute. 

Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye thwarted Martinez in the fourth minute before Federico Dimarco's stunning volley from Nicolo Barella's cross flashed wide of the right post. 

And having missed an earlier header, Martinez broke the deadlock with a prodded finish into the bottom-right corner after collecting Francesco Pio Esposito's exquisite lay-off. 

Dimarco then forced Okoye into another smart stop as Cristian Chivu's side ended the first half in the ascendancy, but they were unable to double their advantage. 

An early mistake from Thomas Kristensen after the break offered Inter a chance to increase their lead, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan's attempt was palmed to safety by Okoye. 

From there, Inter were frustrated and unable to create any clear-cut opportunities, but it mattered little for the Nerazzurri, who kept Udinese to just five shots and an accumulative 0.5 expected goals (xG).

Data Debrief: Dream team does the business for Inter

Inter knew the importance of a victory here, given they played before their Scudetto rivals, and a moment of quality between two players who have built a recent connection proved to be the difference. 

All three assists provided by Esposito in Serie A this season have been converted by Martinez. Indeed, no player has recorded more assists for a single team-mate in the current league campaign (three, also by Aaron Martin to Leo Ostigard).

Inter are also now unbeaten in their last nine games in Serie A, with the Nerazzurri last enjoying a longer run between September 2024 and February 2025 (17 matches).

They may have been unable to make it 2-0, but they were worthy of their win, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.56 from their 14 attempts.