Lautaro’s hunger for goals was evident when, shortly after completing his hat trick in the 67th minute, he fell to his knees and put his head to the ground in obvious disappointment at missing a chance to grab a fourth.

Inter finished fourth in the 36-team standings, advancing directly to the round of 16, while Monaco had to be content with 17th and a spot in the knockout playoffs round.

The Nerazzurri reached the final in 2023, losing 1-0 to Manchester City.

“This fourth place says that Inter is a big team, that Inter should be respected,” Lautaro said. “We showed that two years ago when we got to the final, playing a great team like Manchester City as equals, where I think we deserved more.”

In truth the result in Milan was never really in doubt after less than 12 minutes. Lautaro’s early penalty had already given Inter a 1-0 lead before Monaco defender Christian Mawissa was given a straight red card for bringing down Marcus Thuram when clear on goal — leaving the visitors at a man disadvantage for most of the match.

Lautaro doubled his and Inter’s tally in the 16th minute.