Lautaro Martinez on Sunday shot Inter to a 1-0 derby triumph over crumbling champions AC Milan, but his team stayed 13 points behind Serie A leaders SSC Napoli, who strolled to a 3-0 win at Spezia.
Argentina forward Martinez headed home his 12th league goal of the season in the 34th minute at the San Siro to make sure that Inter remained in second place and plunging their city rivals even deeper into crisis.
Martinez has been given the Inter captaincy as Milan Skriniar wants to leave for Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent in the summer.
Photo: Reuters
“Wearing the armband makes me very proud,” he told DAZN. “Ever since coming to Inter, I have tried to give my best and this is a special game. We did it again.”
A third straight league defeat leaves Milan in sixth and in a downward spiral that threatens to completely ruin a season which less than a month ago looked to be going according to plan.
Stefano Pioli’s side have earned just five points from their six league matches since the FIFA World Cup and have also been knocked out of the Coppa Italia and beaten by Inter in the Supercoppa.
They did not have a single shot on target in an underwhelming derby which was largely dominated by Inter, the nominal hosts, having changed formation and dropped Rafael Leao in an attempt to stop conceding goals.
Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were again the stars of the show for Napoli as they came through at Spezia to briefly extend their advantage to 16 points.
Kvaratskhelia put Napoli ahead from the penalty spot two minutes after halftime on the Italian Riviera, before Osimhen netted twice, taking his league tally to 16.
Osimhen pounced on a defensive error to double Napoli’s lead in the 68th minute and five minutes later rolled home an easy finish after Mattia Caldara passed straight to Kvaratskhelia.
Osimhen ended the day on top of the world after beginning it by going into the stands at the Stadio Picco to apologize to a woman fan who he hit with an off-target pre-match practice shot.
The 23-year-old hugged the woman and posed for selfies before going on to continue Napoli’s unstoppable looking title charge.
“I think she was looking at her phone, the ball hit her in the face and I felt so sorry, as I didn’t mean to do that,” Osimhen said. “I had to show my appreciation and say sorry for that.”
Elsewhere, Torino defeated Udinese 1-0, while Bologna won 2-1 away at ACF Fiorentina.
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