Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku (R) vies with Spezia's Jacopo Sala during their Serie A football match in Milan, Italy, Aug. 20, 2022. (Photo by Daniele Mascolo/Xinhua)
Inter Milan hammered Spezia 3-0 to top Serie A standings.
ROME, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Inter Milan produced a strong performance in its home debut of the new Serie A season by sweeping Spezia 3-0 aside on Saturday.
Inter opened the season with a slender 2-1 away victory over Lecce last week. Coach Simone Inzaghi opted for Romelu Lukaku to partner Lautaro Martinez on the forward line on Saturday while Nicolo Barella stood in the middle of the park.
Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates his goal during the match. (Photo by Daniele Mascolo/Xinhua)
The Nerazzurri was utterly dominant from the very beginning, breaking the deadlock in the 35th minute when Barella's long pass over the top found Lukaku, who nodded for Lautaro to release a missile out of the box.
Lukaku almost got the second before the break, but the Belgian saw his header hit the woodwork.
The home side extended the lead six minutes into the second half as the give-and-go between Lukaku and Milan Skriniar was blocked, but Hakan Calhanoglu followed to finish a daisy-cutter.
Inter Milan's Joaquin Correa (L) celebrates his goal with teammate Roberto Gagliardini during the match. (Photo by Daniele Mascolo/Xinhua)
Inter sealed the win in the 82nd minute when Edin Dzeko dribbled to draw out the goalkeeper before squaring for Joaquin Correa to find the net.
Inter temporarily sat on the top with six points.
Elsewhere, Sassuolo beat Lecce 1-0. Domenico Berardi, who just had signed an extension to his contract with the Neroverdi, proved his value by smashing in a stunning volley to unlock the game.
In other fixtures, Torino shared the spoils with Lazio 0-0, while Udinese also played out a goalless tie with Salernitana.
