Inter tightened their grip on the Serie A title as Lautaro Martinez marked his return from injury with a brace during their 5-2 victory over Roma at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. 

Martinez had been missing since February, but he made his comeback in style as Inter moved nine points clear of AC Milan ahead of their clash with Napoli on Monday. 

Just 60 seconds had elapsed before Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar was picking the ball out of his net when Marcus Thuram teed up Martinez, who fired into the roof of the net. 

But Roma hit back in the 40th minute through Gianluca Mancini's close-range header, with the Italian defender getting ahead of Thuram to nod Devyne Rensch's cross home. 

However, Inter restored their lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time in stunning fashion when Hakan Calhanoglu was allowed time and space before he unleashed a sensational strike that whistled into the top-left corner from 30 yards out. 

And from there, the hosts never looked back as they pulled further clear seven minutes after the restart as Thuram teed up Martinez once again, with the Inter captain lofting his shot from inside the box over the on-rushing Svilar. 

Thuram then got himself on the scoresheet in the 55th minute with a brilliant glancing header from Calhanoglu's corner, as Nicolo Barella added further gloss to the scoreline by picking out the top-left corner after bundling his way into the box. 

Roma grabbed a consolation when Lorenzo Pellegrini's low drive beat Yann Sommer 20 minutes from time, but the damage had already been done as Inter comfortably held on. 

Data Debrief: Inter bounce back to end winless run

Inter entered the international break on the back of three league games without a win and were facing the possibility of going winless in four Serie A encounters for the first time since a five-match stretch between March and April 2023, but they ended that streak in emphatic fashion. 

This was the ninth time that Inter have scored at least five goals against Roma in Serie A, at least four more than any other opponent against the Giallorossi in the top flight (Juventus five times).

And while Martinez will receive plaudits for his goals, Thuram also played his part. The Inter striker teed up both of the Argentine's finishes, becoming the first player to provide two assists for the same team-mate in a Serie A match for the Nerazzurri since March 4, 2022, when Barella did so for Martinez. 

Cristian Chivu's side massively overperformed their expected goals (xG) total, too, finishing the contest with a tally of just 1.17 from their 17 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to Roma's 0.96 from their nine attempts.