Inter Milan thrashed Salernitana 5-0 in Serie A, sending Liverpool a warning ahead of their Champions League second match this week.
To cap up the triumph over the league’s worst team at the San Siro on Friday, Lautaro Martinez scored a hat-trick and Edin Dzeko scored twice.
Simone Inzaghi’s team now has a one-point advantage over Napoli in second place and third-placed derby rivals AC Milan, who meet in Naples on Sunday.
Salernitana is still at the bottom of the table, 10 points from the safety zone. Inter won by the same margin against Salernitana in December, marking the first record in Serie A in 63 years when a side has scored 10 goals against one opponent without conceding a goal.
Inter took the lead in the 22nd minute when Nicolo Barella’s exquisite through-ball found Martinez, who escaped the offside trap and struck the bottom corner for his first goal in ten games.
‘A striker’s life revolves around scoring goals, so I’ve had my share of difficult moments. Martinez said.
‘Today I was fortunate enough to score three goals.’ ‘I walked on the pitch with a lot of drive and a lot of rage because it was a big game for us and a big era for Inter.’
Martinez found space between two defenders and delayed his shot to make room for himself before sliding the ball past a helpless Luigi Sepe in Salernitana’s goal just before halftime.
Martinez completed his hat-trick 11 minutes after the break when Dzeko sent the ball into the box for the 24-year-old Argentina striker to smash home.
Martinez stated it was all about ‘trust’ when asked about his embrace with Inzaghi.
‘He instills confidence in me at all times.’ He gets into conflicts with us near the pitch,’ he continued.
Dzeko had created multiple chances and was rewarded for his efforts when he scored twice in five minutes, first with a close-range finish from Robin Gosens’ cutback and then from a counter-attacking cross from Denzel Dumfries.
Inter will now turn their attention to the Champions League last-16 second leg against Liverpool on Tuesday at Anfield, where they will aim to erase a 2-0 deficit.