Man of the match Thuram proves you don’t need Lukaku to win

So far, so good. Inter Milan managed a dream start of the season in Serie A. Nerazzurri easily defeated Fiorentina 4-0 and are currently on top of the table with all three wins and a goal difference of 8-0. They are followed by arch-rivals AC Milan, who only allowed two more goals than Inter. And looking at what the eternal rivals showed in their opening three games so far, the early signs suggest that one club from the city of Milan will be a champion of Italy. In the opening three matches, Inter Milan showed the most, but the big games and the Champions League matches are yet to follow. What is sure is that Nerazzuri got one helluva striker this season.

When Inter won the race between the clubs to sign a free agent Marcus Thuram, they still wanted to buy/loan Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea. A couple of circumstances prevented his transfer from happening, and what a blessing in disguise that was. Instead of spending a huge amount of money on Lukaku, they have a bargain in their hands. The former Borussia Monchengladbach forward almost singlehandedly defeated Fiorentina today when he scored a goal, assisted for another and provoked a penalty in a 4-0 win. And he proved to be a great partner for captain Lautaro Martinez, who scored twice this evening, while Hakan Calhanoglu scored from the penalty spot for the hosts.

The French international opened the scoring with his maiden goal for Inter after an assist from Dimarco in the 23rd minute. It took Inter half an hour to score again, but it wasn’t because of Fiorentina’s display. Conference League finalists showed nothing in this match and had only six total shots in all 90 minutes. In the 53rd minute, it was time for Thuram to assist Lautaro for his first goal of the game. Then, the Frenchman forced Fiorentina's keeper to bring him down in the penalty area, and Hakan Calhanoglu was perfect from the spot. Martinez finished the game with another brace in the 73rd minute, as he already did it once, against Monza at the start of the season.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 3

Friday

Sassuolo - Verona 3-1 (1-0)

/Pinamonti 11, Berardi 53, 63 pen - Ngonge 56/

Roma - Milan 1-2 (0-1)

/Spinazzola 90+2 - Giroud 9 pen, Leao 48/

Saturday

Udinese - Frosinone 0-0

Bologna - Cagliari 2-1 (0-1)

/Zirkzee 59, Fabbian 89 - Luvumbo 22/

Atalanta - Monza 2-0 (2-0)

/Ederson 34, Scamacca 42/

Napoli - Lazio 1-2 (0-1)

/Zielinski 32 - Luis Alberto 30, Kamada 52/

Sunday

Inter - Fiorentina 4-0 (1-0)

/Thuram 23, Lautaro 53, 73, Calhanoglu 53(p)/

Torino - Genoa 1-0 (0-0)

/Radonjic 90+4/

21.45: (5.40) Empoli (3.70) Juventus (1.68)

21.45: (2.10) Lecce (3.45) Salernitana (3.90)

***odds are subject to change