acegame888 Sparta Prague 0-1 Inter Milan, UCL: Lautaro Martinez Keeps Nerazzurri On Course For Top-Eight Spot

Inter match-winner Lautaro Martinez Inter match-winner Lautaro Martinez

Lautaro Martinez's first-half strike sealed a 1-0 win for Inter over Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesdayacegame888, keeping them on course for a top-eight spot. (More Football News)

The visitors bounced back from their defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last time out in the competition, moving up to fourth in the table.

Martinez volleyed home at the back post from the tightest of angles in the 12th minute, connecting with Alessandro Bastoni's cross. The ball bounced up and in off the underside of the crossbar, giving Peter Vindahl no chance.

The home side, who are now out of contention for a play-offs place, offered little in the way of a goal threat, falling to a fifth consecutive defeat in the competition.

Despite Sparta's second-half improvement, they almost fell to a larger defeat as Denzel Dumfries neatly tucked the ball into the back of the net, only for it to be disallowed for offside following a VAR review.

Inter Milan 3-1 Empoli: Massimiliano Farris Applauds Nerazzurri's Poise But Keeps Scudetto Hopes In Check

BY Stats Perform

After keeping a sixth clean sheet in the competition,ph222 Inter can have confidence going into their final fixture, where they can seal their automatic round of 16 place at home to Monaco next week.

Prague conqueredThe three points are ours #ForzaInter #UCL #SpartaPragaInter pic.twitter.com/j2CXKWtO2I

— Inter (@Inter_en) January 22, 2025

Data Debrief: Martinez to the rescue

Inter were not quite at their best in the final third on Wednesday, but they did enough to get the three points on the board.

They managed just 0.87 expected goals against Sparta from 12 shots, with Martinez responsible for 0.37 of that. He also had the most shots (four) and shots on target (three) of any player on the pitch. 

It was an important milestone for Martinez though, as he netted for the 14th time in the competition - he is now Inter's joint-best goalscorer in the Champions League, level with Adriano.

The ad had Sreejesh's character with the tag line - 'Sree Josh!' and the punchline being, 'Amul, saver the taste'.

"Amit Rohidas was suspended for one match for a breach of the FIH Code of Conduct which occurred during the India vs Great Britain match on August 4," a FIH official statement read.

This is the fifth consecutive Champions League game that Inter have played that has finished 1-0 (W4 D1). Only two other teams in the history of the competition have ever endured the same such run (Juventus in 2004-05 - W5 and Maccabi Haifa in 2009-10 - L5). acegame888