One avenue for Nerazzurri silverware had recently closed, after an Italian Super Cup semi-final defeat to Bologna nine days ago, but Cristian Chivu’s men showed early signs of recovery from that disappointment.
Despite facing a resurgent Atalanta side boasting three wins in four, they gradually asserted their dominance in a slow-burning first half, with La Dea shot-stopper Marco Carnesecchi being called into action to deny Marcus Thuram and Martínez.
A breakthrough for the visitors appeared to be inevitable, though, and with 35 minutes on the clock, Thuram fired home a brilliant first-time right-footed strike which squirmed through Carnesecchi’s grasp. However, VAR intervened to rule out the effort for offside and spared Atalanta’s blushes.
Raffaele Palladino’s men offered very little themselves going forward, failing to register a shot on target before the break in a tentative first-half performance.
The game started to open up after the break, with Atalanta carrying more of a threat going forward. Éderson should have done much better when he headed over from Charles De Ketelaere’s cross, while the Belgian also had an effort ruled out for offside.
But it was Inter who finally broke the deadlock, and did so via a predictable source, as Berat Djimsiti’s misplaced pass in the 65th minute gifted the ball to Pio Esposito, who played a perfectly-weighted ball for Martínez to apply a lethal close-range finish.
With this being Martínez’s eighth career goal against Atalanta, and Inter winning in each of his previous four goalscoring appearances against La Dea, a very familiar story was unfolding.
Palladino’s side huffed and puffed in response, but Chivu’s side always had a degree of control and took all three points back to the San Siro – albeit with Lazar Samardžić somehow firing wide from close range for the hosts in the dying minutes.
Ultimately, Inter held on to claim a fourth consecutive league win, and are the team to beat heading into 2026. Meanwhile, Atalanta’s Inter hoodoo continues after failing to win any of the last 16 meetings between the two sides (D5, L11), as their three-match winning streak in all competitions was abruptly halted.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lautaro Martinez (Inter)