Inter Milan returned from the international break with a ruthless first half at San Siro, sweeping Parma aside 3-0 to move top of Serie A on Saturday night.
Inter settle the contest before half-time
- Inter started without captain Lautaro Martinez, who remained among the substitutes, but found an early breakthrough in the 13th minute. Parma’s attempt to play out from the back went badly wrong, allowing Petar Sucic to intercept and score.
- Pio Esposito then won a penalty for the Nerazzurri. Hakan Calhanoglu converted from the spot five minutes later to double the home side’s advantage.
- Marcus Thuram completed the scoring on 31 minutes, finishing a counter-attack with a low angled strike against the club from the city where he was born.
Thuram’s goal made it 3-0 before the interval and removed any doubt from the sixth-round fixture. Inter had made Parma pay heavily for a loose opening spell, while their own attacking edge proved decisive.
Parma’s difficult new chapter
Parma were more willing to play than they had been under Carlos Cuesta, who was dismissed during the international break, with Alberto Gilardino now in charge. However, their approach brought costly errors and they were unable to recover after Inter’s rapid three-goal burst.
Vincent Sierro’s Parma dropped to 17th after Genoa, sitting one place above them, beat Fiorentina 2-1 earlier on Saturday. They could fall into the relegation zone after Sunday’s fixtures.
Inter wait on rivals
The win temporarily put Inter at the top of the table. Roma, level on points with Inter before the round, were due to visit Como on Sunday at 12:30, while Lazio, also level with the Nerazzurri at the start of the weekend, were scheduled to face Monza at 15:00.
