Lautaro hat-trick, Inter beat Monaco and advance to the round of 16 | OneFootball

An extraordinary Inter defeat Monaco 3-0 at San Siro thanks to a Lautaro Martinez hat-trick, and end the League Phase in fourth place, directly advancing to the Champions League Round of 16. The match has a unique sense to it: after two minutes Thuram was brought down in the area in front of the goalkeeper, Lautaro stepped up to make it 1-0. Inter were relentless, Monaco went down to ten men in the 13th minute due to Mawissa being shown a red card after he brought Thuram down as he was through on goal. The second goal came three minutes later: a persistent attack in the box, Barella played in Lautaro who struck with venom.

Inter were in total control of the match and made it 3-0 in the second half, once again through Lautaro: Dimarco set up the counter attack for Mkhitaryan, whose shot was palmed away by the goalkeeper right into Lautaro's path for the winning tap-in. The Inter captain is now on 144 Inter goals, overtaking Benito Lorenzi in sixth place in the list of all-time Inter goalscorers. Furthermore, with 17 goals in the Champions League, he is on par with Sandro Mazzola as the highest Inter scorer in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League. There was also time for Giacomo De Pieri, who made his Inter debut: the 18 year old Primavera forward was subbed on for Lautaro Martinez in the 76th minute.

Inter will face one of AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus in the Champions League Round of 16.

INTER 3-0 MONACO 1-0 | LIVE TABLE

Scorers: 4' Lautaro (I) (Pen), 16' Lautaro (I), 67' Lautaro (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 28 Pavard, 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni (30 Carlos Augusto 60'); 2 Dumfries (36 Darmian 76'), 23 Barella (16 Frattesi 60'), 21 Asllani, 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco; 9 Thuram (8 Arnautovic 60'), 10 Lautaro (49 De Pieri 76'). Substitutes: 13 J. Martinez, 40 Calligaris, 7 Zielinski, 17 Buchanan, 31 Bisseck. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

MONACO (4-2-3-1): 1 Majecki; 2 Vanderson, 5 Kehrer (4 Teze 46'), 22 Salisu, 13 Mawissa; 15 Camara (88 Magassa 46'), 6 Zakaria; 11 Akliouche (12 Caio Henrique 19'), 10 Golovin, 18 Minamino; 36 Embolo. Substitutes: 16 Kohn, 50 Lienard, 7 Ben Seghir, 20 Ouattara, 27 Diatta, 28 Coulibaly, 41 Michal, 42 Bouabre. Coach: Adi Hütter. Booked: Zakaria (M), Vanderson (M), Pavard (I), Asllani (I) Sent off: Mawissa (M) 13' Stoppage time: 3' - 6'.

Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH) Assistants: Senad Ibrišimbegović, Davor Beljo (BIH) Fourth Official: Miloš Gigovic (BIH) VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER) Assistant VAR: Piotr Lasyk (POL)

Cautioned: Barella, Dumfries (I); Camara, Kehrer (M) Suspended: -

CHAMPIONS LEAUGE: THE LEAGUE PHASE STANDINGS