Inter moved back to the top of Serie A after battling to a 1-0 win away at Atalanta, as Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half.

The visitors were the better side in the first half but struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, though Nicolo Barella spurned a chance in the penalty area after he was picked out unmarked by Alessandro Bastoni.

Inter thought they had taken the lead through Marcus Thuram, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR check as Martinez had strayed into an offside position in the build-up.

Atalanta had a goal of their own disallowed for offside after the break, as Charles De Ketelaere found the net from close range on the rebound following a save from Yann Sommer to deny Nicola Zalewski.

But Inter found the breakthrough after 65 minutes as Berat Djimsiti's calamitous pass was cut out by substitute Pio Esposito, who put Martinez clean through, and he made no mistake with a fine finish.

The hosts were mostly ineffectual in front of goal but did go close to a late leveller, with Lazar Samardzic sending an effort wide of the far post from eight yards out after being found by De Ketelaere.

Data Debrief: Atalanta draw a blank as Inter march on

For all of Atalanta's progress under new boss Raffaele Palladino – they had won six of their seven matches in the lead up to this fixture – they were largely toothless on Sunday.

Atalanta could only muster an xG of 0.80, while they failed to register a shot on target throughout the whole match.

Martinez proved to be the difference maker, and he continued his strong form against Atalanta, having now been involved in 10 goals in 13 Serie A appearances against them. Cagliari are the only side against which he has more goal involvements in the competition (13). The Argentine led Inter for shots (four), shots on target (two) and touches in the opponent's box (five).

Inter have now won their final Serie A match of the calendar year in six of the last seven seasons, drawing the other one, and they will head into 2026 with a one-point lead at the summit.