Martinez scores as Racing rise to fifth

Alejandro Donatti grabbed a brace while Lautaro Martinez struck his 10th goal of the campaign as Racing Club rose to fifth in the Superliga Argentina football standings with a 5-0 rout of Patronato.

The hosts breezed to a 3-0 lead at halftime thanks to goals from Leonardo Sigali, Lisandro Lopez and Donatti on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The latter netted again in the 74th minute before Martinez latched onto a Diego Gonzales through ball and slid a deft shot past goalkeeper Sebastian Bertoli.

Martinez, who has been linked with Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund, has now scored 10 goals in 14 matches in Argentina's first division this season.

His tally in 2018 is 11 goals in 10 matches across all competitions. The 20-year-old was last week rewarded for his prolific form by being called up for Argentina's upcoming friendlies against Italy and Spain.

Racing are now fifth in the Superliga's 28-team standings with 35 points from 20 matches, 12 points behind leaders Boca Juniors, who could only manage a 1-1 draw at Atletico Tucuman.

--IANS

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