Inter Milan extended their unbeaten opening to the Serie A season with a commanding 3-0 victory over Parma, scoring all three goals before half-time.
The result means Parma have now failed to beat Inter in 11 consecutive meetings, while Cristian Chivu’s side moved on to five wins from their first six league matches, with one draw.
Inter had gone unbeaten in their opening five games before the international break and quickly resumed their impressive form at San Siro. They opened the scoring inside 20 minutes after a costly mistake in the Parma defence.
Goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi played the ball towards Mandela Keita on the edge of the penalty area, but Petar Sucic intercepted it. The Croatian midfielder then struck a powerful effort which went in off the post.
Inter doubled their lead five minutes later when Diego Carlos brought down Pio Esposito inside the penalty area. The referee checked the incident on the pitchside monitor before awarding a penalty.
Hakan Calhanoglu took responsibility and sent Corvi the wrong way, placing his spot-kick into the bottom-left corner. It was his third Serie A goal of the campaign.
The home side continued to dominate and added a third goal on the half-hour mark following a swift move from defence to attack.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan released Marcus Thuram, who held his composure before shooting across Corvi and into the far corner. The France striker’s finish gave Inter a three-goal advantage before the break.
Inter continued to press after the restart and almost added a fourth within minutes of the second half beginning. Thuram found Federico Dimarco advancing on the overlap, and Dimarco’s low ball towards the danger area was redirected towards goal by Esposito.
Corvi prevented the fourth with a save using his feet, keeping out Esposito’s close-range effort.
Parma created little in response, although they did come close to reducing the deficit during one of their rare attacks. Mariano Troilo headed over and wide, an effort which reflected a difficult night for the visitors.
Inter remained in control during the closing stages and saw out the match without serious pressure from Parma. The victory secured their fifth league win in six matches, alongside one draw.
Parma, meanwhile, suffered a fourth defeat in as many matches, having recorded one win and one draw in their other games during that run.
Carlos Augusto was named Flashscore’s Man of the Match for Inter Milan.