Martinez hat-trick eases Inter to 3-0 win over 10-man Monaco

MILAN, Italy :Captain Lautaro Martinez netted a hat-trick to become Inter Milan’s most prolific scorer in the Champions League as they eased to a 3-0 victory over the 10 men of Monaco at a raucous San Siro on Wednesday.

The victory ensured Inter finish fourth in the table and qualified directly for the round of 16 with 19 points from their eight games, while 17th-placed Monaco will feature in the knockout playoffs having managed 13 points in the league phase.

The home side started the game at a frenetic pace and were 2-0 up and a man to the good inside 16 minutes as Martinez struck a penalty and then supplied a low finish from Nicolo Barella's excellent pass.

Martinez secured his hat-trick in the second half to take his career tally of Champions League goals to 17, three more than Adriano.

"Today was a very important game, to have a slightly shorter fixture list because there are so many commitments," Martinez told Prime Video.

"The team took to the field with the right attitude. I'm happy because we won and got into the top eight, which was the goal.

"I'm proud of breaking records but I'm only happy if Inter wins. It's definitely our goal (to win the Champions League), we will fight for all competitions."

Monaco lost Christian Mawissa after 12 minutes as he committed a last-man foul on Marcus Thuram and was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to compound a night to forget for the visitors.

Inter’s campaign has been built on a miserly defence and they kept a seventh clean sheet in eight games, conceding a single goal in the league phase for the best defensive record of all 36 teams.

They had been less clinical at the other end of the pitch, but on a night when they raced out of the starting blocks,