With Lautaro’s hat-trick, Inter beat Monaco and go straight to the round of 16
Argentine striker scores two goals in the first half and another in the second to confirm the team in the top-8
LAUTARO BRINGS THE CLASSIFICATION
Inter Milan beat Monaco 3-0 on Wednesday and secured direct qualification for the round of 16 of the Champions League. The star of the match at San Siro was Lautaro Martínez, who scored three goals and kept the team in fourth place. Monaco ended the League Phase in 17th place and will go to the playoffs to seek a spot in the next phase.
SHIRT NUMBER 10 AND TOP SCORER
Lautaro Martínez is enjoying another great phase at Inter Milan. With Wednesday’s hat-trick, the forward now has 15 goals in 29 Inter games in the 24/25 season, surpassing Thuram and becoming the team’s top scorer. He has scored five goals in this Champions League – three against Monaco, one against Sparta Prague and another against Red Star.
How was the game?
Inter dominated Monaco throughout the match. Just three minutes in, Thuram was brought down in the box by Zakaria. Lautaro Martínez stepped up to take the penalty and opened the scoring. The match became even easier for the Italians in the 11th minute, after Mawissa was shown a straight red card for a foul on Thuram, who was running alone towards goal. Four minutes later, the home side extended their lead. Barella collected the rebound from a save by the Monaco goalkeeper and passed it to Martínez, who struck first time inside the box.
To seal the deal and secure a place in the round of 16, Mkhitaryan led a lightning counterattack through the middle of the field. The midfielder charged to the edge of the area, shot, and the goalkeeper saved. Lautaro Martínez took advantage of the rebound to score the hat-trick.
