Captain Lautaro Martinez scored a hat-trick to become Inter's joint-most prolific scorer in European Cup/Champions League history as they thrashed Monaco 3-0 to reach the last 16.

Martinez matched Sandro Mazzola's tally of 17 goals in Europe's premier club competition, which he plundered between 1963 and 1977, as Inter finished fourth 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. 

Martinez converted from the penalty spot after Denis Zakaria clipped Marcus Thuram, then things got worse for Monaco when Christian Mawissa received a straight red card for hauling the same player back.

A low finish from Martinez made it 2-0 to the Nerazzurri, and the Argentine had his hat-trick when Radoslaw Majecki could only parry Henrikh Mkhitaryan's shot into his path in the second half.

Monaco ended the game with nine men as substitute Jordan Teze was carried off injured after Adi Hutter had used all his changes, but they avoided further punishment thanks to two big misses from Marko Arnautovic. 

The victory means Inter qualify directly for the round of 16 with 19 points from eight games, and Serie A rivals Milan and Juventus – as well as PSV and Feyenoord – are among their potential opponents. Monaco, meanwhile, must navigate a play-off against Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica after finishing 17th of 36 teams, with 13 points.

Data Debrief: Martinez the main man

As well as going level with Mazzola to earn a share of club history, Martinez scored Inter's first Champions League hat-trick since September 2010.

On that occasion, Inter were the defending champions and Samuel Eto'o scored three against Werder Bremen.

Martinez's first goal came from 12 yards after just three minutes and 16 seconds, the earliest penalty goal in a Champions League match since March 2020, when Josip Ilicic scored for Atalanta against Valencia after just two minutes and 47 seconds.