MILAN: Inter Milan claimed a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Venice when a second-half header from Lautaro Martinez proved enough to seal the Serie A clash on Sunday.

Inter now sit second in the table with 24 points, one behind leaders Napoli, while Venice are 18th.

Inter closed the gap on the leaders after Napoli suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta earlier on Sunday.

Captain Martinez broke Venezia’s defense after 65 minutes, heading in a Federico Dimarco cross for the breakthrough after a game full of missed chances.

The Argentine striker looked visibly relieved after scoring his first Serie A goal at home in eight months, with Inter recording 20 shots on goal throughout the match.

After a slow start, both teams picked up the pace before halftime, but headed into the break scoreless.

Just minutes after the break, Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had scored for Inter, but the goal was ruled out due to offside.

Inter had the chance to extend their lead, but narrow margins and impressive saves from Venice goalkeeper Filip Stankovic kept the scoreline intact.

The San Siro fans held their breath as Marin Sverko headed an equalizer for the visitors in the final seconds of added time, but a VAR review revealed a handball and the goal was disallowed, preserving the victory for the team. ‘Inter.

In another Serie A match on Sunday, AS Roma coach Ivan Juric found himself under pressure following a 3-2 defeat to Hellas Verona.