Inter’s Narrow Victory Over Udinese Sparks Bold Champions League Showdown With Arsenal

Inter Milan is riding a wave of momentum as they gear up to face Arsenal in the Champions League this week. They snagged a gritty 1-0 victory over Udinese on Saturday, thanks to Lautaro Martínez’s first-half strike that stretched their Serie A lead to a comfy six points over AC Milan. It’s no small feat, especially with Napoli lurking nine points behind in third place. With Coach Cristian Chivu mixing up his lineup, the combination of Lautaro and young Pio Esposito proved pivotal, creating that all-important goal in the 20th minute. Though Federico Dimarco’s potential second goal got chalked off for offside, Inter’s confidence is unmistakable as they prepare for their crucial European showdown. The timing couldn’t be better for Inter to solidify their domestic dominance while trying to turn their Champions League luck around – after all, Arsenal looks unstoppable at the top of their group. The season’s heating up, and things with Inter couldn’t be more tantalizing right now. LEARN MORE

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan will be full of confidence as the Champions League resumes after consolidating its lead at the top of the Serie A table with a 1-0 win at Udinese on Saturday.

Lautaro Martínez scored in the first half as Inter moved six points clear of second-placed AC Milan and nine above defending champion Napoli, in third.

Napoli was playing at home to Sassuolo later. Milan hosts lowly Lecce on Sunday.

Fourth-placed Juventus was also playing later, at relegation-threatened Cagliari.

Inter welcomes Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday. Arsenal tops the table having won all six of its matches in Europe’s elite club competition. Inter, which has lost its past two, sits sixth.

With that crucial match coming up, Cristian Chivu again rotated his squad on Saturday, with Pio Esposito partnering Lautaro.

And those two combined in the 20th minute for the opening goal.

Piotr Sebastian Zielinski played a through ball into the penalty area for Esposito to backheel it into the path of Lautaro, who muscled his way across before drilling into the bottom right corner.

Federico Dimarco thought he had doubled Inter’s lead in the 61st minute following another Esposito assist, but it was ruled out for offside.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer