Martinez at the double as imperious Inter Milan cruise past Lecce
After their UEFA Champions League win over Atlético Madrid in midweek, and a tie with Atalanta to come on Wednesday, Simone Inzaghi made no less than eight changes to his starting line-up.
And it was a gamble which took just 15 minutes to pay off, as Kristjan Asllani burst through the middle and played a precise through ball to Lautaro Martínez, who beat the offside trap and slotted past Wladimiro Falcone.
When combined with the eventual clean sheet, that would also become Martínez’s third match-opening winner in his previous four strikes.
But the spotlight then switched to fellow South American powerhouse Alexis Sánchez midway through the half, as he won the ball deep in Lecce territory and crossed for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian dragged his shot just wide.
To give credit where due, the home side grew into the game as the half wore on, but they failed to test Emil Audero in the Inter goal before the break.
Audero was counting his blessings a minute after the restart, however, as an Antonino Gallo cross was met by Alexis Blin’s flying header, which went agonisingly wide of the post with the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
But having come close to an equaliser, Lecce were found wanting at the other end eight minutes later, when Sánchez and Martínez linked up on the right side. The former played a simple ball across the six-yard box to Davide Frattesi, who applied the close-range finish.
Two became three within a matter of seconds, as Frattesi picked the ball up on halfway, before sprinting unchallenged down the right and played the ball square to Martínez, who fired past Falcone for his second away-day brace this year alone.
Number four came with a little over a quarter of the match remaining, when centre-back Stefan de Vrij rose highest to meet Federico Dimarco’s corner for his first goal of the campaign.
After an evening in which their unbeaten away record was barely threatened, the Nerazzurri are now 12 matches without defeat. Meanwhile, though both Lameck Banda and Roberto Piccoli came within inches of a consolation, a third loss without scoring means Roberto D'Aversa’s men have won just one of their last 10.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
