Inter Secures Last-16 Spot With 3-0 Victory Over Monaco As Martinez Matches Mazzola's Record

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Inter Milan's captain, Lautaro Martinez, achieved a remarkable feat by scoring a hat-trick in their 3-0 victory over Monaco. This performance elevated him to become Inter's joint-top scorer in European Cup and Champions League history, equalling Sandro Mazzola's record of 17 goals. Mazzola had set this record between 1963 and 1977. Inter secured their place in the last 16 with this win.

The match began with Inter taking control early on. Within just 16 minutes, they were leading 2-0 and had a numerical advantage. Martinez scored from the penalty spot after Marcus Thuram was fouled by Denis Zakaria. Monaco's situation worsened when Christian Mawissa received a red card for another foul on Thuram.

Martinez completed his hat-trick in the second half when Radoslaw Majecki could only parry Henrikh Mkhitaryan's shot into his path. This marked Inter's first Champions League hat-trick since Samuel Eto'o achieved the same feat against Werder Bremen in September 2010. Martinez's first goal came from a penalty just over three minutes into the game.

Monaco ended the match with nine players after Jordan Teze was injured, leaving them without further substitutions available. Despite this disadvantage, they avoided additional goals due to missed opportunities by Marko Arnautovic. Inter finished fourth in the league phase with 19 points from eight games.

With their victory, Inter advanced directly to the round of 16. Their potential opponents include Serie A rivals Milan and Juventus, as well as PSV and Feyenoord. Meanwhile, Monaco must face a play-off against either Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica after finishing 17th out of 36 teams with 13 points.

This achievement also marked Martinez as a key player for Inter, sharing club history with Mazzola. His early penalty goal was notable as it was the quickest in a Champions League match since March 2020 when Josip Ilicic scored for Atalanta against Valencia.

Inter's defensive strength was highlighted as they became the first team to maintain clean sheets in six consecutive UEFA Champions League home matches since Atletico Madrid did so in September 2016. They are also the first Italian team to achieve this since Juventus managed it back in September 2005.