Inter Milan provisionally moved six points clear at the top of Serie A after grinding out a 1-0 away victory over Udinese, extending their strong record in the fixture with a fourth win in five away meetings.

With a UEFA Champions League showdown against Premier League leaders Arsenal looming in midweek, Cristian Chivu opted to rotate his starting XI. Despite the changes, Inter began with trademark fluency and almost struck inside the opening five minutes, as Lautaro Martínez and Federico Dimarco both went close.

The breakthrough eventually arrived before the midway point of the first half. Piotr Zieliński threaded a driven pass from deep to Francesco Pio Esposito, whose deft lay-off teed up Martínez. The Argentine showed his quality, holding off his marker before curling an outside-of-the-boot finish into the bottom corner to end a three-match Serie A goal drought.

Aware that Udinese had drawn their previous two home league games after conceding first, Inter remained on the front foot. Martínez and Dimarco combined again around the half-hour mark, with the latter forcing a smart low save from Maduka Okoye, who was kept busy throughout the contest.

Udinese offered little attacking threat before the interval, with Yann Sommer largely untested. His most demanding moment came when he pushed away Keinan Davis’ effort from the edge of the box, preventing a repeat of the Englishman’s goal in the reverse fixture.

The pattern of play remained unchanged after the restart, as Kosta Runjaic’s side struggled to impose themselves. Okoye again came to Udinese’s rescue, denying Henrikh Mkhitaryan from a tight angle, before Dimarco saw a similar finish ruled out for offside in the build-up.

Home frustration turned to indignation midway through the second half when Carlos Augusto escaped with a yellow card for a late challenge on the edge of the area as the last Inter defender — a decision that drew protests from the Udinese supporters.

Udinese enjoyed more possession late on, but their inability to seriously test Sommer meant Inter saw out the contest comfortably. The win marks a sixth consecutive away league victory for Chivu’s side and strengthens their grip on the Scudetto race.

Udinese, meanwhile, have managed just one win in their last six matches and look set for another season marooned in mid-table.