Three goals and three points at San Siro

INTER 3-1 UDINESE

Goalscorers: 20' Lukaku (I) pen., 43' Lovric (U), 73' Mkhitaryan (I), 89' Lautaro (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 36 Darmian (33 D'Ambrosio 46'), 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic (20 Calhanoglu 66'), 22 Mkhitaryan (5 Gagliardini 84'), 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 79'); 90 Lukaku (10 Lautaro 66'), 9 Dzeko. Substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 24 Onana, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 14 Asllani, 37 Skriniar, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

UDINESE (3-5-1-1): 1 Silvestri; 50 Becao, 29 Bijol, 23 Ebosse (3 Masina 18'); 19 Ehizibue, 37 Pereyra (24 Samardzic 76'), 11 Walace, 4 Lovric (5 Arslan 76'), 13 Udogie; 26 Thauvin (7 Success 61'); 9 Beto (2 Ebosele 76'). Substitutes: 20 Padelli, 99 Piana, 14 Abankwah, 15 Ulneia Buta, 80 Pafundi. Allenatore: Andrea Sottil.

Booked: Masina (U), Lukaku (I), Darmian (I), Bijol (U) Added time: 3' - 5'

Referee: Dionisi. Assistants: Carbone, Giallatini. Fourth official: Ayroldi. VAR: Abbattista. VAR assistant: Fourneau.

A win to bounce back from the draw at the Ferraris, a win to keep on pushing forward in the league, a win to best prepare for the upcoming Champions League first-leg showdown against Porto. A big win. Three goals and three points against an Udinese side who were always in the game. Lukaku opened the scoring, Mkhitaryan restored Inter's advantage following Lovric's equaliser and Lautaro sealed it.

Coach Inzaghi made six changes to the side that started in Genoa on Monday: while the league is undoubtedly important, it's also true that Porto will be the visitors to San Siro on Wednesday. Handanovic was selected between the sticks, Darmian in defence and Brozovic in midfield, the latter of whom made his first start since 18 September (in the reverse fixture against Udinese). Meanwhile, Dzeko and Lukaku formed the front pairing. The Nerazzurri took to the pitch wearing black armbands in memory of Ilario Castagner, Inter's coach during the 1984/85 season, who passed away on Saturday.

As for Udinese, they lined up in a 3-5-1-1, with Thauvin supporting Beto up front. The match didn't exactly start off in thrilling fashion, but Inter did make their intentions clear, pushing plenty of men into the opposition half. Nevertheless, the Nerazzurri were up against an organised Friulani side who posed a threat on the break, with Pereyra and Lovric being given the licence to get forward and shoot.

Lukaku, meanwhile, was looking lively as he pulled the ball back for Dzeko, whose attempt was blocked by Becao. Dumfries then got involved, being brought down by Walace in the box. A clear penalty, which the referee awarded a couple of minutes later after a VAR review.

Lukaku stepped up and saw his spot-kick saved by Silvesti. However, a retake was ordered, with Masina being penalised for encroachment. Romelu wasn't going to miss a second time and confidently opened the scoring from twelve yards out. It was his first Serie A goal since he netted on the opening day of the season away to Lecce in August.

It was a goal that should have given Inter more momentum, but Inzaghi's side weren't able to build on it like they would have liked. The match wasn't being played at a high tempo, the team weren't creating much and Udinese remained well in it, looking to strike on the counter. And this is exactly what they did shortly before half-time as Pereyra spread it for Lovric, who fired into the roof of the net with his right foot.

Inzaghi replaced Darmian with D'Ambrosio at half-time. The game started to be played at a quicker pace, but the Friulani remained attentive and a threat on the break, especially through Beto. With Dumfries and Dimarco working hard down the flanks and Mkhitaryan increasingly involved in the team's attacking play, the Nerazzurri were getting into the opposition box more frequently. In the 65th minute, Silvestri made an excellent save to keep out Mkhitaryan's powerful strike. Lautaro and Calhanoglu then entered the fray to provide fresh legs.

It all came down to what happened within the space of 120 seconds around half an hour into the second half. At one end, Dzeko fired straight at Silvestri; at the other, with Udinese having two men over on the counter, Dumfries made a decisive block to deny Success. Inter immediately went back on the attack as Dimarco picked out Mkhitaryan with a brilliant pass, and the Armenian did the rest, unleashing a brilliant first-time strike that flew past Silvestri and sent San Siro into raptures.

Udinese now had no option but to push forward, and this left plenty of space for Inter to exploit. Lautaro benefitted from this, although he got his lobbed finish wrong after being sent one-on-one against Silvestri. He made up for this moments later, confidently dispatching the ball into the net with his right foot with a finish that wasn't all too dissimilar to his goal against AC Milan in the Supercoopa.

89 minutes in and Inter had killed off the match, even if Udinese, who never gave up, continued to attack in the closing stages. There wasn't enough time for the visitors, however, as the Nerazzurri claimed the points. Now, attentions will turn to Porto: the Champions league is back on Wednesday!

MATCHDAY 23

Sassuolo 0-2 Napoli Sampdoria 1-2 Bologna Monza 0-1 AC Milan Inter vs. Udinese Atalanta vs. Lecce Fiorentina vs. Empoli Salernitana vs. Lazio Spezia vs. Juventus Roma vs. Hellas Verona Torino vs. Cremonese

TABLE

Napoli 62* Inter 44 Milan 44* Atalanta 41 Roma 41 Lazio 39 Bologna 32* Torino 30 Udinese 30 Juventus 29 (-15) Monza 29* Empoli 27 Lecce 24 Fiorentina 24 Sassuolo 24* Salernitana 21 Spezia 19 Verona 17 Sampdoria 11* Cremonese 8

*one more game played

LIVE UPDATES

FULL-TIME: INTER 3-1 UDINESE!

90' Five minutes have been added on.

89' GOOOOAAAALLLLLLL! El Toro smashes it into the roof of the net!

88' A big chance for Lautaro, who goes on-on-one with the goalkeeper but lobs over the bar.

73' GOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLL! Mkhitaryan with a wonderful first-time finish from Dimarco's ball across!

65' Silvestri makes a great save to deny Mkhitaryan!

55' Dumfries meets Mkhitaryan's cross at the back post but heads over the bar.

48' Barella lets fly with his right foot but Dumfries inadvertently gets in the way.

46' The second half kicks off.

LIVE UPDATES

HALF-TIME: INTER 1-1 UDINESE

45+2' Acerbi's header from Dimarco's free-kick is smothered by Silvestri

45' Three minutes have been added on at the end of the first half.

43' Lovric scores for Udinese. 1-1.

35' Acerbi's knockdown for Mkhitaryan is just out of the Armenian's reach following a great counter-attack launched by Barella!

34' Dimarco blocks a dangerous shot from Lovric.

20' GOOAAAALLLLLLL! Lukaku's initial spot-kick is saved, but a retake is ordered by VAR. Big Rom scores with his second attempt!

18' Penalty to Inter after a VAR review! Dumfries was fouled in the box.

5' Barella's right-footed attempt from the edge of the box is charged down.

1' Away we go at San Siro!