Lautaro Martínez Brace Fires Inter to 2-0 Win Over Pisa and Back into Title Hunt

Inter Milan returned to winning ways in Serie A on Sunday evening, claiming a hard-earned 2-0 victory away to promoted Pisa thanks to a clinical first-half strike and second-half brace from captain Lautaro Martínez. 

The result, secured at the Arena Garibaldi, keeps Simone Inzaghi’s side firmly in the Scudetto race, moving them to within three points of leaders Napoli with a game in hand.

The opening exchanges were marked by cautious probing, with Pisa, newly promoted and buoyed by a string of draws against top-flight heavyweights, adopting a compact defensive shape to frustrate the visitors. Inter, coming off a midweek Champions League setback, dominated possession but struggled to pierce the hosts' low block in the early stages, as shots from Marcus Thuram and Hakan Çalhanoğlu sailed over the bar. The Tuscan outfit, marshaled by Alberto Gilardino, grew in confidence on the counter, testing Yann Sommer with a stinging effort from midfield dynamo Marius Marin that forced a sharp save midway through the first half.

The breakthrough arrived in the 34th minute, when Lautaro Martínez capitalized on a defensive lapse to open the scoring. The Argentine striker latched onto a precise through-ball from Nicolò Barella, shrugged off his marker, and rifled a low drive into the bottom corner for his ninth goal of the season. Martínez's clinical finish not only silenced the partisan crowd but also injected momentum into Inter's rhythm, though Pisa's goalkeeper Nicola Bagnolini denied a curling effort from Denzel Dumfries to keep the deficit at one entering the break.

The second half resumed in much the same vein, with Inter content to manage the game while Pisa pushed for parity, nearly equalizing through a header from Alessandro Circati that Sommer tipped onto the post. However, Martínez struck again in the 68th minute to seal the points, pouncing on a rebound after Bagnolini parried a thunderous volley from substitute Mehdi Taremi. The brace, Martínez's 10th and 11th league strikes, underscored his pivotal role in Inter's attack and drew widespread acclaim for his predatory instincts.

Pisa's discipline waned late on, as they racked up three yellow cards in a bid to stem the tide, but Inter's backline—anchored by Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi—remained unbreached, marking their seventh clean sheet in 13 outings. The result lifts Inzaghi's men to second in the standings, three points behind leaders Napoli with a game in hand, while Pisa slip to 15th, their four draws in five prior matches now overshadowed by this narrow defeat.