Inter Milan have moved closer to extending their lead at the top of Serie A after earning a 2-0 half-time lead over Udinese.

Roberto Mancini's side should have been ahead inside seven minutes when Ivan Perisic pulled the ball back to Stevan Jovetic, but the former Manchester City forward watched Orestis Karnezis keep out a low shot with his foot.

Jeison Murillo came to the rescue for the visitors with a crucial touch to send Antonio Di Natale's strike over the crossbar, before Cyril Thereau unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box to force Samir Handanovic into a stunning save.

Just as Udinese appeared to be taking control, Inter opened the scoring as a poor pass from Bruno Fernandes allowed Mauro Icardi to collect the ball and find the bottom corner with a fine finish.

Handanovic kept Inter in front with another superb stop to deny Di Natale after Thereau had created an opening for his strike partner.

Another mistake from the hosts proved to be costly as Mauricio Domizzi's attempt to send the ball back to Karnezis resulted in a miscued pass finding Jovetic, who capitalised to send a chipped effort over the onrushing goalkeeper.