Inter, only Monza in the first half. Thank goodness for Pio

Chivu's side flew out of the blocks. Fast, direct and incisive. Specifically: a deep ball from goalkeeper Martinez, flicked on by centre-forward Martinez, contested by Pio and delicately laid off by Diouf for Calhanoglu's final thunderbolt. The goal arrived after six minutes and unleashed the enthusiasm. The remaining 40 of the first half brought only anxiety. From that point on, in the first half, only Monza played, with blessed youth in the stands too, Pedro Obiang on his debut as sporting director, and above all on the pitch, with two players born in 2005 (the Portuguese Varela and the Frenchman Ondoa), two born in 2006 (the Italians Kouadio and Bakoune) and one born in 2007 (Mout, also Italian). Gustavo Varela himself, signed for a couple of million from Benfica via Gil Vicente, made a fool of Akanji to score for 1-1. It lasted only a moment, but a chill descended over San Siro. Everything returned to normal after the break, the sort of normality that, and there is no need to explain why, cannot allow even a vaguely balanced match between Inter and Monza. Zielinski then scored thanks to an error by goalkeeper Pizzignacco, Pio Esposito followed with a backheel already in the running to become one of the goals of the season, and finally Bisseck struck with one of his trademark surging runs.

Player ratings. Martinez did enough but looked uncertain in a couple of moments. Bisseck was very active, Akanji and Bastoni far less so. The Swiss defender was embarrassing on Monza's temporary equaliser, while the Italian still has not shaken off last year's lack of sharpness. In midfield, while waiting for the "made in England" signings, Diouf and Zielinski turned in excellent performances, the two most likely to make way for Spence and Curtis Jones. Barella and Dimarco were average, while Calhanoglu was a joy to watch for the first goal of the 26/27 league season. Up front, Lautaro looked more and more like a "Diez" behind Pio. Before the match Marotta had distanced him from Barcelona, assuming they had ever really made contact in the first place (and there is no indication they did). In the match, Inter's captain still looked a long way from acceptable condition: normal for someone who had just come back from the World Cup. Finally, Pio Esposito did well, very well indeed. And not only because of the goal. He plays with personality, confidence and generosity. On Inter's shirt he wears No 94, for Italy he will be the No 9 for who knows how many years