Giant killer brought down by one — Inter over Como to reach first place

More or less last season, but this season nobody felt comfortable standing in Como’s way. Over the past months, Cesc Fabregas’ team has instilled fear into every Serie A side, whether big or small. They measured up Juventus, Lazio, and Fiorentina (which, admittedly, in the case of the latter isn’t such a feat at the moment), and held champions Napoli and Atalanta — results that earned them the label of “giant killers.” Confidence was high ahead of their trip to Giuseppe Meazza, with hopes of claiming a historic point against Inter.

But then, fate had other plans… The club based near Italy’s most famous lake suffered a debacle in a match that was supposed to be one of the highlights of the 14th round of Serie A. What was meant to be an attractive fixture turned into a cat-and-mouse game, in which Inter not only stopped Como’s climb to the top of the table, but humiliated them and briefly seized the lead — 4–0 (1–0).

What is one of the toughest losses for the former Spanish midfielder was, for his counterpart on the touchline, Cristian Chivu, one of the most convincing victories. Many had doubts about the Romanian strategist when he joined the club, but over time the 45-year-old has gradually earned the trust of the Italian football public — and, importantly, of his fans.

Defensively, things may not be perfectly tuned yet, but on the other side, Inter operates like a Swiss watch. They are by far the most efficient team in the championship and boast the league’s top scorer — Lautaro Martinez. The captain has been in excellent form in recent weeks and continued his rise tonight, adding another team to his list of victims.

Since arriving in Italy, the Argentine has only failed to score in Serie A against Cagliari. Against every other team — 30 in total — he has found the net at least once, and on Saturday he added Como to the list.

As the team with the most goals scored in the first 15 minutes of league matches, Inter once again started furiously. A nightmare opening for the visitors was prevented by Jean Butez, who saved Nicolo Barella’s sitter in the third minute.

However, under pressure from the hosts, Como was breached on the next major attack. In the 11th minute, Martinez latched onto a return pass from Luis Enrique and, in full stride, sent the ball into the far corner from the penalty spot for his seventh league goal. The goal is HERE!

The scoreline may not fully reflect it, but the match could have swung the other way had Anastasios Douvikas, at the start of the second half in the first real chance created by Como, managed to equalize. Jesus Rodriguez set him up perfectly from the wing, but the Greek striker, just a few meters out, failed to hit the target.

After that, the home side ran riot. Markus Thuram soon doubled the lead, Hakan Calhanoglu added his signature touch to make it 3–0, and Carlos Augusto, with a bit of luck, completed the scoring.

SERIE A ROUND 14

Saturday

Sassuolo - Fiorentina 3-1 (2-1)

/Volpato 14, Muharemovic 45+1, Kone 65 - Mandragora 9 pen/

Inter - Como 4-0 (1-0)

/Martinez 11, Thuram 59, Calhanoglu 80, Augusto 86/

Verona - Atalanta 3-1 (2-0)

/Belghali 28, Giovane 36, Bernede 71 - Scamacca 81 pen/

Sunday

14.30: (2.45) Cremonese (3.00) Lecce (3.30)

17.00: (5.60) Cagliari (3.60) Roma (1.75)

20.00: (2.65) Lazio (3.05) Bologna (3.05)

22.45: (2.40) Napoli (3.05) Juventus (3.55)

Monday

17.00: (2.45) Pisa (3.00) Parma (3.30)

20.00: (2.45) Udinese (3.00) Genoa (3.30)

22.45: (4.40) Torino (3.50) Milan (1.85)

***odds are subject to change***