Marko Arnautovic, Denzel Dumfries, Lautaro Martinez, and Marcus Thuram all hit their targets.
Inter Milan defeated Salernitana 4-0 at San Siro to increase their lead over them to 10 points at the top of Serie A.
Inter was aiming for their sixth straight win, and they were well on their way when Denzel Dumfries put the hosts out of reach at the half after goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez within two minutes of each other.
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Marko Arnautovic had a shot disallowed, but he was unfazed as he added a fourth goal for Inter with the final kick of the match, ensuring that their perfect start to 2024 continued. An overwhelming Inter side limited their opponents to just one chance.
Alessandro Bastoni’s header could have given Inter Milan the lead after three minutes, but Guillermo Ochoa parried it into Thuram’s path, allowing him to only poke into the post with the goal at his mercy. Inter Milan’s attacking strategy was evident from the start.
Another early opportunity was wasted when Ochoa expertly tipped over the bar from point-blank range after Nicolo Barella pounced on a loose ball and fired at goal.
For the first ten minutes, Inter attacked in waves, and Ochoa had to stop Thuram from stabbing in from inside the six-yard box yet again.
When Carlos Augusto found Thuram inside the box in the 17th minute, Inter finally got their deserved breakthrough. Thuram scored his 10th league goal of the season with a powerful shot into the top corner.
In a short while, Inter extended their lead to two goals, both of which came from Augusto’s long pass to Martinez, who curled in from the edge of the box.
Five minutes before the half, Inter took the lead thanks to a deflected cross from Barella that Ochoa had to deal with. However, he could only push Dumfries into his path, who easily bundled home.
Similar to how they had started the first, Inter nearly had a fourth immediately after when Ochoa palmed behind a rifled volley by Hakan Calhanoglu.
After 55 minutes, Salernitana had not scored a single goal, but Antonio Candreva’s 25-yard free kick gave them a chance, but he misfired.
In order to maintain a decent score, Ochoa rose superbly to block Stefan De Vrij’s header.
After former Stoke and West Ham forward Arnautovic finished past Ochoa on a long ball in the 78th minute, Inter thought they had a fourth, but the celebrations were cut short by the offside flag.
But when Arnautovic reached the top of Dumfries’ cross and protruded into the area, that was the icing on the cake.
