Inter wins at Udinese to fortify Serie A lead before facing Arsenal in Champions League

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Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal, during the Serie A soccer match between Udinese and Inter, in Udine, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Andrea Bressanutti/LaPresse via AP)

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8:07 AM on Saturday, January 17

By DANIELLA MATAR

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

Lautaro Martínez scored in the first half and Inter moved six points clear of second-placed AC Milan and defending champion Napoli, which beat Sassuolo 1-0.

Milan hosts lowly Lecce on Sunday.

Fourth-placed Juventus was 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. 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.

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 doubled Inter's lead in the 61st following another Esposito assist but it was ruled out for offside.

High cost

Napoli ended a run of three consecutive draws but it could have come at a cost.

Stanislav Lobotka scored his first goal in more than three years, volleying in a rebound in the seventh minute after Sassuolo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric could only parry a shot by Eljif Elmas.

Elmas and Napoli teammate Amir Rrahmani came off injured in the second half.

Rrahmani's will be more concerning as it appeared to be a muscle issue in his left thigh, while Elmas felt dizzy after taking a knock to the head.

Matteo Politano also appeared to have a muscular problem in stoppage time but stayed on — albeit with little movement — because Napoli used up all of its substitutions.

Napoli sits dangerously close to the elimination zone in the Champions League table and visits Copenhagen on Tuesday.

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