Lautaro Martinez’s decisive goal secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Inter Milan over Genoa at the San Siro on Saturday, sending the Nerazzurri to the top of the Serie A table—at least temporarily.
The win lifted Inter to 57 points, one ahead of Napoli, which faces Como away on Sunday. Meanwhile, Genoa remains 12th with 30 points.
Inter entered the match desperate for a turnaround after managing just one victory in its previous four outings.
With a crucial top-of-the-table clash against Napoli looming, securing three points was vital for morale.
The home side dominated possession in the opening 10 minutes but struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities.
Genoa’s disciplined defensive setup made life difficult for Inter, blocking every attacking move and ensuring both goalkeepers had little to do in a first half that lacked spark.
Joaquin Correa, making only his second start of the season, was forced off at halftime due to injury, prompting Inter boss Simone Inzaghi to introduce Mehdi Taremi. Already missing the sidelined Marcus Thuram, Inter found itself without its leading scorer in Serie A this season.
Denzel Dumfries had the first real chance of the second half but blazed his shot over the bar. Genoa, on the other hand, remained patient, waiting for opportunities to strike on the counter.
More than an hour passed before either side registered a shot on target. Inter was twice denied in quick succession, first by Mattia Bani’s goal-line clearance from a corner, then by goalkeeper Nicola Leali, who kept out Taremi’s effort.
Nicolo Barella rattled the crossbar as Inter intensified its attacking efforts, but Genoa nearly struck first when Caleb Ekuban’s close-range header was kept out by Inter’s stand-in goalkeeper Josep Martinez.
The Spaniard, making his league debut in place of the injured Yann Sommer, was formerly Genoa’s No. 1 for two seasons.
Shortly after, Inter finally broke through. A corner found Lautaro Martinez, whose glancing header took a crucial deflection off Genoa’s Patrizio Masini, wrong-footing Leali and creeping into the net with 12 minutes left on the clock.
Genoa pressed forward in search of an equalizer, but Inter had chances to extend its lead. Leali twice denied both Taremi and Martinez, yet Inzaghi’s men held firm to claim a vital win and heap pressure on Napoli, which must now respond to reclaim the top spot.
