Serie A leaders Inter Milan thrash rock-bottom Salernitana to continue title charge
Bringing together the division’s top and bottom clubs was always going to yield a clear favourite, and Inter flexed their muscles as they got off to a ruthless start in Milan.
In fact, the Nerazzurri would have been two ahead within six minutes if the woodwork had been kinder to either Marcus Thuram or Nicolo Barella, but a double salvo ahead of the 20-minute mark rendered the match something of a foregone conclusion.
Brazilian full-back Carlos Augusto was instrumental in both, first setting up Thuram to blast in from the centre of the area before his throw-in just a minute later was taken down and curled in by Lautaro Martinez.
A 10th strike in just six career appearances against the Salerno side - following his record-breaking four-goal haul as a substitute in the reverse - sent the Argentine ahead of compatriot Mauro Icardi as Inter’s eighth top scorer in their history, and his side weren’t done there in the first half.
Chances came and went, yet the result was put beyond any reasonable doubt with a third before the break.
Guillermo Ochoa did enough to prevent Triantafyllos Pasalidis from deflecting into his own net, but Denzel Dumfries reacted sharply to bundle in on the rebound.
The away side didn’t manage a single attempt on goal in the first half, and one-way traffic resumed after the restart. Ochoa continued to try his best between the sticks, stopping efforts from Hakan Calhanoglu and Stefan de Vrij, but Salernitana’s lack of chance creation ensured that counted for very little.
A lively debut for Tajon Buchanan was a point of encouragement for the home side, and they made their final mark on the scoreline on the stroke of the final whistle, as Dumfries crossed in for substitute Marko Arnautovic to grab one of his own.
Although the result was nothing more than an expectation for the Giuseppe Meazza faithful, extending their unbeaten league streak to 18 matches - a run that began in the reverse fixture - surely makes Simone Inzaghi’s side the overwhelming favourites to lift a 20th Scudetto. Liverani certainly has his work cut out in Campania, meanwhile, but memories of their great escape in 2021/22 could provide a glimmer of hope to the Granata.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Carlos Augusto (Inter)