Inter Milan delivered a commanding 5-2 victory over Roma in Serie A, spearheaded by a brace from Lautaro Martinez in his dynamic return to action. Hakan Calhanoglu contributed with a spectacular long-range strike, while Marcus Thuram and Nicolò Barella also found the net.
Although Inter’s lead at the top of the league was reduced from ten to six points, the match marked the welcome return of Lautaro Martinez, who had been sidelined since February 18. This came despite the absence of Yann Bisseck and the suspended Carlos Augusto. For Roma, Matias Soulé made his comeback after a seven-week injury layoff, though Wesley was added to their injury list alongside Manu Koné, Paulo Dybala, Artem Dovbyk, and Evan Ferguson.
The Inter captain enjoyed a remarkable comeback, netting within the first minute of his return. Marcus Thuram provided the assist from the right flank, setting up Lautaro Martinez to powerfully strike the ball into the top of the net from close range, beating Zeki Celik. Lautaro Martinez’s early goal set the tone for Inter’s dominant performance.
Shortly after, the home side nearly extended their lead with a double opportunity. Hakan Calhanoglu’s powerful shot tested Mile Svilar, whose save was immediately followed by Federico Dimarco’s attempt, which was narrowly deflected wide.
Svilar continued to be busy, also parrying an angled drive from Lautaro Martinez after he exploited the offside trap from Dimarco’s pass. However, Roma began to assert themselves, with Donyell Malen’s header from a Soulé free-kick requiring a challenging fingertip save from Yann Sommer.
Malen later sent a long-range effort just wide. In another attacking sequence, both Nicolò Barella and Piotr Zielinski saw their shots blocked. Mario Hermoso appealed for a penalty, but the referee waved play on after a cross struck Manuel Akanji’s elbow, with the defender’s hands behind his back.
Roma found their equalizer from a corner kick that wasn’t properly cleared. Devyne Rensch capitalized on the loose ball, delivering a cross from the left by-line for Gianluca Mancini to head in unchallenged from six yards out.
Just when Roma believed they would head into halftime with the scores level, Calhanoglu produced a moment of brilliance. From approximately 35 yards, he unleashed a ‘rocket’ shot that swerved unpredictably in the air, leaving Svilar surprised and unable to prevent it from flying into the net just under the crossbar.
More bad news struck Roma at halftime as Mancini was forced off due to a muscular injury, with Daniele Ghilardi coming on as his replacement.
Inter extended their lead with a third goal. Thuram outpaced a hesitant Rensch to a long bouncing ball, then cut inside and delivered a precise pass for Lautaro Martinez, who, with the inside of his right foot, swept the ball first-time into the far bottom corner from 13 yards.
Mere moments later, Thuram secured Inter’s fourth goal, heading in unmarked at the near post from a Hakan Calhanoglu corner, making the score 4-1.
With Inter’s lead now seemingly unassailable, Cristian Chivu substituted Bastoni, who received a standing ovation from the San Siro crowd, a gesture of reassurance following recent disappointing performances with the national team.
The Nerazzurri continued their dominance, with Nicolò Barella capitalizing on a double defensive mistake to surge into the penalty area and powerfully strike home from 12 yards.
Roma managed a late response. After Malen fired an earlier shot over the bar, he then set up Lorenzo Pellegrini, who slotted a somewhat scuffed finish into the near bottom corner, bringing the score to 5-2.
Denzel Dumfries had an opportunity, chipping the ball over Svilar only for it to flash across the open goal. Svilar then pulled off another superb one-handed save at the near post from Francesco Pio Esposito’s shot, following an ingenious back-heel flick from Ange-Yoan Bonny.
Dumfries also headed wide from an unmarked position following a corner, and Pellegrini’s free-kick narrowly missed the top corner, indicating that the game could easily have seen even more goals than the seven already scored at San Siro.
