Lautaro Martínez netted a hat trick to help Inter Milan beat relegation-threatened Crotone 6-2 and move top of Serie A for a few hours at least on Sunday.

Martínez could have had four if his second attempt had not gone down as an own goal by Crotone defender Luca Marrone.

Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi also scored in a strong second-half performance from the Nerazzurri.

Inter moved two points above city rival AC Milan, which visits Benevento later where it will face former star player and coach Filippo Inzaghi. Crotone slipped to last place.

Juventus was also playing later, against Udinese.

All 20 Serie A teams are in action on Sunday as the Italian league resumes after the winter break.

Inter had ended last year on a streak of seven successive league victories but was surprised when Niccolò Zanellato headed Crotone into the lead in the 12th minute.

Martínez equalized in the 20th and thought he had another 11 minutes later but Marrone got the last touch on Nicolò Barella’s ball across the box.

Vladimir Golemić leveled shortly after from the spot after Arturo Vidal had fouled Arkadiusz Reca.

Vidal had also been at fault for Crotone’s opener and he was taken off at halftime.

Inter often performs better in the second half and so it proved again as Martínez restored his side’s lead in the 57th with a powerful shot into the top left corner.

Lukaku had played a part in the buildup and the former Manchester United forward marked his 50th Serie A appearance with a goal of his own seven minutes later, turning and holding off Sebastiano Luperto to fire in Alessandro Bastoni’s long ball over the top.

Martínez completed his hat trick in the 78th, heading in the rebound from close range after Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz had saved Ivan Perišić’s strike. Hakimi capped a fine day for Inter three minutes from time.

ATTACKING ATALANTA

Duván Zapata scored twice as Atalanta beat Sassuolo 5-1 to close in on its opponent in the battle for the top four.

Sassuolo slipped to fifth, two points behind fourth-place Napoli after Gennaro Gattuso’s side won 4-1 at Cagliari despite playing 18 minutes with 10 men after Piotr Zieliński was sent off following two yellow cards.

Atalanta moved up to sixth, a point behind Sassuolo.

Atalanta wasted several opportunities but was 2-0 up at halftime following goals from Zapata and Matteo Pessina and it ran riot in the second half.

Zapata doubled his tally four minutes after the break and Robin Gosens and Luis Muriel extended the home side’s lead before Vlad Chiricheș netted a consolation for Sassuolo.

OTHER MATCHES

Edin Džeko scored the only goal as Roma beat Sampdoria 1-0 to remain third, six points behind Inter.

At the other end of the table, Torino moved off bottom spot and out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win at Parma.

Spezia slipped into the bottom three after losing 1-0 at home to Hellas Verona. Genoa, the other team in the relegation zone, managed to draw 1-1 against Lazio.

Fiorentina drew 0-0 against Bologna.

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