Inter Milan remained on course for their 20th domestic title as they stormed to a 4-0 win at Lecce in Serie A on Sunday after two goals by captain Lautaro Martinez helped them maintain their nine-point lead at the top of the table.
Inter, whose other goals came from Davide Frattesi and Stefan de Vrij, restored their advantage at the top with a game in hand over second-placed Juventus, who beat Frosinone 3-2 earlier on Sunday to reach 57 points from 26 matches.
Simone Inzaghi’s injury-hit side, who remain the only Serie A team yet to lose on the road this season, extended their winning streak in all competitions to 10 games.
First-choice goalkeeper Yann Sommer was missing through illness, with Emil Audero coming in to make his Serie A debut for Inter, while Marcus Thuram, Juan Cuadrado and Francesco Acerbi were all sidelined with injuries.
“We have to stay focused even when we sleep, the kids know that,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
“We’ve had two quiet months in which we’ve always recovered our strength well and where we’ve not lost players. Today we had six absentees and it’s not easy for us coaches.”
After edging Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, Inter began with a heavily rotated squad as midfielders Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella were rested from the starting lineup.
That, however, did not pose a problem, as Martinez put Inter ahead in the 15th minute, beating two defenders to latch onto a neat pass from Kristjan Asllani and strike low from the edge of the box for his 100th goal in Serie A.
Lecce keeper Wladimiro Falcone showed great reflexes to keep out a superb Federico Dimarco strike early in the second half.
But Inter then scored three times in 13 minutes, starting with Frattesi, who doubled their lead after the interval as he netted at point-blank range.
In a great team move, Martinez sent a pass to Alexis Sanchez deep inside the box and the Chilean squared the ball to Frattesi for a simple finish in the 54th minute.
Martinez added the third two minutes later, netting from a Frattesi pass across the box which the Argentine striker sent into the bottom corner first time.
With his 22nd goal of the season, Martinez beat his personal best in the competition, which stood at 21 goals in each of the previous two Serie A campaigns.
De Vrij completed the rout with a towering header from a Dimarco corner in the 67th to leave Lecce 14th on 24 points.
Inter have now scored in 20 consecutive away Serie A matches for the first time. They next host Atalanta on Wednesday.
