Rome, Oct 1 Lautaro Martinez became the difference-maker as the Argentinean came off the bench to score four goals as Inter crushed Salernitana 4-0 in an away match of Serie A.
The Nerazzurri saw their perfect league record come to an end in the last round when they lost to Sassuolo 2-1, but Simone Inzaghi's side had to rotate the squad for the upcoming Champions League with Davy Klaassen and Alexis Sanchez getting starts, reports Xinhua.
The away side were toothless to break the deadlock until Inzaghi threw on Lautaro in the 54th minute, which became a turning point of the match, as Lautaro put Inter ahead by dinking it over an on-rushing Guillermo Ochoa just eight minutes after his substitution.
Lautaro made it 2-0 in the 77th minute when he swept in on Nicolo Barella's assist, before he completed a hat-trick by converting a penalty earned by Marcus Thuram.
It was not over yet, as Lautaro continued his show on 89 minutes when Carlos Augusto rolled across from the left for him to drill home.
Elsewhere, AC Milan claimed their third consecutive win by conquering Lazio 2-0, thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor.
The two Milanese clubs both amassed 18 points after seven rounds, with Inter leading the table by virtue of superior goal-difference.
Also on Saturday, Napoli are seemingly back on track as they humiliated Lecce 4-0, with four players including Victor Osimhen managing on target.
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