Watch: Icardi bags 9-minute hat-trick, Inter nets 7 to obliterate Atalanta

What looked set to be a tight, enthralling match between two sides of equal merit in the race for European places has turned into a slaughter.

Inter steamrolled Atalanta in the opening half of Sunday's match at the San Siro, the Nerazzurri jumping out to a stunning 5-0 lead within 34 minutes, thanks largely to the predatory instincts of captain Mauro Icardi.

The Argentine attacker scored three times in a dizzying nine-minute spell; he opened his account for the day with a scrappy strike in the 17th minute, bagged a cheeky Panenka penalty six minutes later, and completed his treble with a powerful header (above) in the 26th minute.

Icardi now sits second on the Serie A scoring chart with 20 goals, two behind Torino talisman Andrea Belotti, who did Icardi one better with an eight-minute hat-trick last week.

Related - Watch: Belotti goes atop Serie A scoring chart with 8-minute hat-trick

Ever Banega added a treble of his own, and Inter cruised into fourth spot, leapfrogging Atalanta by virtue of a 7-1 destruction.