Inter Milan moved to the top of Serie A on Saturday with a commanding 4–0 win over high-flying Como at the San Siro, ahead of their midweek Champions League clash with struggling Liverpool.
Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram each scored on either side of halftime, before late goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Carlos Augusto sealed an emphatic victory that lifted Inter two points above AC Milan and Napoli, both of whom have yet to play this weekend.
Napoli host fierce rivals Juventus on Sunday night, while Milan will be favourites to reclaim top spot when they visit Torino on Monday.
“Today we showed how good we are against a really good side,” Martínez said. “We showed just how hungry we are to get as many points as we can… it’s a really good win for us.”
The performance was a timely boost for Cristian Chivu’s squad as they prepare for Tuesday’s crucial meeting with Liverpool, a match likely to influence their chances of securing direct qualification for the Champions League last 16.
A major positive for Chivu was the standout display from Luis Henrique at right wing-back — a position that has troubled Inter since Denzel Dumfries suffered an ankle injury last month.
Henrique created Inter’s opener in the 11th minute with a surging run from deep before cutting inside and supplying a perfect pass to Martínez, who fired home his league-leading seventh goal of the campaign.
Thuram then added Inter’s second in the 59th minute, poking in from close range after Federico Dimarco’s corner caused chaos in the Como box. It was the Frenchman’s first league goal since returning from the hamstring injury he suffered in September.
Despite the scoreline, Como — coached by Cesc Fàbregas — had chances to equalise early in the second half, with Tasos Douvikas and Álex Valle both spurning excellent opportunities.
Inter made them pay late on. Çalhanoğlu struck his seventh goal of the season in the 81st minute, and Carlos Augusto added a crisp volley moments later to complete the rout. The defeat, Como’s first since August, dropped them to sixth, six points off the top.
“It’s hard to analyse when you’ve lost 4–0,” Fàbregas said. “It’s a heavy defeat… but honestly, I didn’t see a huge difference between the two teams. Results like this help you grow the most.”
Fiorentina’s crisis deepens
Fiorentina’s nightmare season continued as they slumped to a 3–1 defeat at promoted Sassuolo, leaving them bottom of the table and still without a win.
A storied club that finished sixth last term and the former home of icons like Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa, Fiorentina have collected just six points from 14 matches.
Despite being backed by more than 4,000 travelling fans, the Viola were dismal in Reggio Emilia. They took a ninth-minute lead through Rolando Mandragora’s penalty but collapsed after Cristian Volpato equalised with a deflected strike five minutes later.
Tarik Muharemović headed Sassuolo into the lead on the stroke of halftime, taking advantage of dreadful marking to score his first Serie A goal. From there, Fiorentina showed little resistance, and Ismaël Koné sealed the victory in the 65th minute.
Volpato had a spectacular strike ruled out moments earlier for what appeared to be a soft foul on Fabiano Parisi, a decision that enraged Sassuolo coach Fabio Grosso, who was sent off for dissent.
Fiorentina manager Paolo Vanoli, appointed only a month ago, cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as his team remained six points from safety with over a third of the season gone.
Meanwhile, Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino, who quit Fiorentina in the summer before joining La Dea last month looked to continue his positive start when his side visited Verona in Saturday’s late fixture.
AFP
