Lautaro Martinez scored four times after coming off the bench as Inter Milan returned to winning ways and the top of Serie A with a 4-0 victory at struggling Salernitana.
Inter, who slipped to a first loss of the campaign at home to Sassuolo in midweek, initially struggled to break down a Salernitana side that had not managed to win any of their previous six matches.
Martinez’s entrance in the 55th minute proved key and he broke the deadlock just after the hour, although Inter were grateful that Mateusz Legowski saw an equaliser chalked off for offside.
Martinez struck again and then completed a 23-minute hat-trick from the penalty spot before the Argentinian took his tally for the season to eight goals as Inter went back above city rivals Milan, who beat Lazio on Saturday.
Marcus Thuram had an early sight at goal but Salernitana keeper Guillermo Ochoa made a comfortable save while Alexis Sanchez and Denzel Dumfries were unable to direct their efforts on target.
Salernitana steadily grew into the encounter and Boulaye Dia tested Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who then had to get down low to keep out Grigoris Kastanos’ strike from distance.
The hosts ended the half on top and Inter’s listlessness in the final third after the interval prompted Simone Inzaghi to introduce Martinez, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Kristjan Asllani also brought on.
Martinez needed just seven minutes to make his presence felt as a low ball into his path from Thuram required a delicate chip to beat the advancing Ochoa and put Inter ahead.
They were almost immediately pegged back as Agustin Martegani’s perfectly-weighted through ball saw Lęgowski dash in to score what he thought was his first Serie A goal, only to be ruled offside on replay.
Inter got a gift as they doubled their lead as Ochoa’s throw caught Domagoj Bradaric unaware and the Croatian was dispossessed by Dumfries before the ball was worked to Nicolo Barella, whose cut back allowed Martinez to slam home in the 77th minute.
Salernitana’s plight worsened as Thuram turned away from Matteo Lovato before being hauled down in the area, allowing Martinez to step up and complete his hat-trick in the 89th minute.
Martinez was still not finished and completed a miserable second half for Salernitana with another first-time finish after being teed up by Carlos Augusto.
Juventus move top of Serie A as Federico Gatti nets last-gasp winner at Monza
Federico Gatti scored a last-gasp winner to send Juventus top of Serie A with a battling 2-1 victory at Monza.
The hosts had looked like rescuing a point when Valentin Carboni struck at the start of stoppage time to cancel out Adrien Rabiot’s opener.
But Juve would strike back deep into added time as Gatti’s effort sealed the three points to take Massimiliano Allegri’s side top ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
Dusan Vlahovic saw an early penalty saved by Michele Di Gregorio after Andrea Cambiaso had been upended in the box.
The visitors would not be kept at bay for long, though, as Rabiot broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when he headed home a corner.
Allegri’s men could not build on their lead however, with Di Gregorio rarely tested.
The Monza goalkeeper kept out a driven Rabiot effort with ease while Gatti fired over from distance with chances at a minimum.
Monza thought they had made Juve pay for not doubling their advantage when substitute Carboni scored.
His ball into the box evaded everyone and drifted in past Juve stopper Wojciech Szczesny as the home side scored with their first effort on target of the night.
Despite their celebrations, Monza could not hold on for a point as, with Juventus throwing men forward, Rabiot crossed low for the unmarked Gatti.
The defender fluffed his lines with his first chance but thrashed the ball home at the second attempt to seal a dramatic win for the visitors.
The victory takes Juventus top of the table, moving a point clear of Inter Milan, who face a tough trip to fourth-placed Napoli on Sunday evening.
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Stefano Pioli urges AC Milan to get Serie A title challenge back on track
AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli admitted his side must get their Serie A title challenge back on track with victory in Saturday’s home game against Frosinone.
Just one win in their previous five league matches has seen Milan slip six points behind leaders Inter and four behind second-placed Juventus.
A home Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund in midweek left Milan bottom of their group and while they can still qualify for the knockout stages with one game to play, the pressure is mounting on Pioli.
The 58-year-old former Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina head coach told a press conference: “Frosinone are doing very well and have confidence, (Eusebio) Di Francesco is doing a great job.
“They are aggressive, but we know how to cause them problems. We want to win, and we need to. We need points, the league campaign is long.
“As usual, we’ll need to show concentration, determination and quality. We need to show we are still competitive and put in a good performance.”
Milan beat Pioli’s former club Fiorentina 1-0 at the San Siro last week to halt a domestic league run of two draws and two defeats and a slump in form has coincided with a lengthy injury list.
Pioli was without half a dozen key players for Tuesday night’s loss to Dortmund and saw defender Malick Thiaw forced off early in the second half.
Thiaw will not feature against Frosinone and Olivier Giroud is still suspended, while Rafael Leao, Noah Okafor, Pierre Kalulu, Simon Kjaer, Marco Pellegrino and Mattia Caldara are unlikely to feature.
Pioli added: “There are still 25 league games to play. I told the players not to come in on Thursday to Milanello if they didn’t believe we could reach Inter and Juventus.”
Frosinone boss Di Francesco has injury concerns of his own as his 10th-placed side bid to halt their poor away form, with Luca Mazzitelli, Riccardo Marchizza, Pol Lirola, Francesco Gelli and Marco Brescianini all doubtful.
Frosinone’s impressive start to the season after promotion has been built on five wins and a draw in seven home league matches, but they are winless on the road.
Di Francesco told a press conference: “We need to get this obstacle out of our heads. We made the last point (on the road) in Salerno (in September).
“We need to try to approach the away match with the right attitude. Here at home, however, we feel stronger when going to face our opponents. This way of thinking certainly needs to be changed.”
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