After entering the New Year, the most terrifying team in the five major leagues is Inter. Under the leadership of Inzaghi Jr., the Nerazzurri are going hand in hand in Serie A, Champions League and Italian Super Cup, and after a wave of 10 consecutive wins, they have left Juventus behind them by nine points, and the league title is just around the corner. In midweek, the 21st round of Serie A replay kicks off with Inter hosting Atalanta, who are fifth and still have hopes of finishing fourth. Inter Milan scored a big blow in the game, with Darmian, Lautaro, Dimarco and Frattesi each scoring a goal to beat Atalanta 4-0.
Despite the heavy schedule, Inzaghi Jr. did not make a significant rotation and Sommer recovered from injury to once again guard the Nerazzurri, with Pavard, De Vrij and Bastoni in defence. In midfield, Dimarco and Darmian played at wing-back, Barella, Asllani and Mkhitaryan in the middle, with Lautaro and Arnautovic in the double.
After the start of the game, Atalanta dominated the game. In the 11th minute, Holm crossed from the right, Milanchuk failed to grab the point in front of the goal, and De Ketelaere followed up with a volley to score. However, the referee verified through VAR replays that Bastoni's clearance hit Miranchuk's arm first, and Atalanta's goal was invalidated.
In the 19th minute, Bastoni's long pass from the back instigated a counterattack, Barella stepped forward to form a single knife, stopped the ball past Carnesecchi, and sent the ball into the empty goal, but the referee signaled offside, and Inter also rejoiced. 7 minutes later, Inter Milan tacitly cooperated in the middle, Lautaro retreated to send a direct pass, Mkhitaryan inserted it, the Atala goalkeeper attacked and blocked, Darmian Yellow Sparrow was behind, easily pushed the empty goal, Inter still took the lead to break the deadlock, 1-0!
In the 29th minute, Lautaro played the role of a fulcrum again, attracting three Atalanta defenders and then splitting the ball in time, Darmian pushed in front of the goal unmarked, but was blocked by the Atalanta goalkeeper with his outstretched leg. In the 40th minute, Dimarco counter-attacked in front, and Lautaro's volley from the edge of the penalty area hit the crossbar and popped up.
However, in stoppage time, Pavard crossed the low flat ball on the right side, Lautaro stopped the ball and turned to get rid of it in one go, and suddenly shot outside the penalty area, hitting Atalanta by surprise, the opponent's goalkeeper didn't have time to react at all, and directly fixed in place to watch, the ball hung in the dead corner, 2-0!
The 26-year-old "Wild Bull" has scored 23 goals in 24 Serie A appearances this season, and is the top scorer in the list. With 26 goals in 34 games in all competitions, he is just two goals short of his personal goal record. In the European Golden Boot rankings, Lautaro has already left Mbappe and Haaland behind, and only needs to look up to Kane.
In the 49th minute, Lautaro sent a long pass over the top from the midfielder, Dimarco cut in on the left, and the shot from a small angle was blocked by the goalkeeper in the near corner. In the 54th minute, Dumfries crossed from inside the penalty area and hit Hartbauer's arm, the referee awarded a penalty according to the VAR reminder, Lautaro's penalty was saved, Dimarco hit the follow-up shot, and Inter killed the game 3-0.
In the 72nd minute, Holm fouled on the left side and sent a free kick, Sanchez picked up the ball and passed it into the penalty area, and Frattesi inserted it into the net, 4-0!
With a 4-0 win over Atalanta, Inter won eight consecutive league games and 11 consecutive wins in all competitions, further extending the gap to 12 points. It is worth mentioning that Inter Milan has scored 67 goals after this campaign, thus surpassing Liverpool and Bayern Munich to become the most ferocious team in the five major leagues.