Inter brushed Parma aside on Saturday. Christian Chivu's side won 3-0 at San Siro and move provisionally top of Serie A. Both AS Roma and Lazio can still draw level on points this weekend. Parma, with coach Alberto Gilardino on the touchline for the first time, are only seventeenth.
With Lautaro Martínez back from Argentina and starting on the bench, Inter needed less than a quarter of an hour to take the lead. A huge Parma mistake handed them the opener.
Goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi played the ball to Mandela Keita, who dwelt on it too long and lost possession to Petar Susic in a dangerous area. The Croat did not hesitate and smashed a left-footed finish past Corvi: 1-0.
Before the twentieth minute, Inter had already made it 2-0. Diego Carlos stood on Pio Esposito's foot and Hakan Çalhanoglu drilled the resulting penalty through Corvi into the net.
By the half-hour mark, Inter had settled it in Milan. Henrikh Mkhitaryan showed his class with a measured ball to Marcus Thuram, who weighed up his options, went for goal himself and found the near corner: 3-0.
Little happened after the break. Parma tried to keep the damage down and managed it, while Inter conserved energy with a busy schedule in mind.
Next up is a tough week for Inter, starting on Tuesday with a potentially tricky Champions League trip to Club Brugge. They then travel to Bologna in Serie A on Saturday.